A Trip To Remember
by johannas2011
Summary: What happens when Katniss and her class is sent on a 2 week trip up North to a camp site beside the beach during their final year at school. 2 weeks of fun or 2 weeks of hell? first Fan-Fic! Give it a try? Rated T mainly for language
1. Sorry I Have A Better Love Life

**Hi! This is my first fan-fic.. And I'm really nervous! I plan to update at least once or twice a week and each chapter is around 1,000 words so they are decent size! Please enjoy and give a review whether it is bad or good!**

**CH1- Sorry I Have a Better Love Life!**

Katniss POV

I watched as Ms. Coin scribbles a list onto the board. It's our final year of school and as a celebration our teacher has organised what she calls a 'vacation' up north. I don't go to one of the richest schools so I can't say I'm excited about it. We will probably end up in a cheap camp site where they serve shit food and they make you participate in boring activities, but 2 weeks off of school is good no matter where you are.

There is a 12 hour bus trip to get to the place we are staying at. _Apparently _they have really good beaches _and _that the camp we are staying at is right on the water. It sounds good but its easy for teachers to exaggerate things. The beaches are most probably crap and I bet the camp is a hour drive away from them anyway.

"Katniss!" Ms. Coin shouts, breaking me from my thought. Her grey eyes burn into mine and I can see she is angry.

"Um, yeah, what?" I reply startled. The whole class starts laughing and I look around confused as I can feel the heat begin to pool in my cheeks.

"I asked you if you have paid for the trip yet!" she yells at me impatiently.

"Oh right, um… no I- no I haven't. But I'm paying it tomorrow!" I stutter trying to think of a good excuse but failing.

"It better be because we are leaving tomorrow" she says firmly, still eyeing me down with her steely grey eyes. Ms. Coin doesn't really like me... Probably because I'm so unorganised and I daydream a lot. Ms. Coin on the other hand is really organised. She likes to stick to a schedule and is never late. "The tent arrangements along with a list of things what should be brought along with you on the trip are placed on the notice board outside the gym. Have a good day and remember 5am tomorrow, in this class room to leave! Don't be late or you will be left behind!" she says before dismissing the class.

I stand up sluggishly and slowly make my way out the door. I'm so tired today and I don't know why, I just want to fall asleep right here and now. I spot Annie and Gale waiting for me across the other side of the hall. Annie and I have been friends since the beginning of high school but Gale and me have known each other for almost all our lives. I feel a small smile creep onto my face and the sight of them. I speed up my walking and start heading towards them. Suddenly Cato slides in front of me blocking my path way to my friends and forcefully kissed me on the lips.

"Katniss, maybe if you spent more time organising yourself and less time thinking of whom you're going to be kissing, you would have your money in by now!" Ms. Coin says flatly as she passes me and Cato. I can feel the anger build up inside me and her statement that implied I run around making out with boys all the time. She practically called me a slut!

"Sorry, my love life is better than yours, Ms. Coin" I blurt out to her before I could stop myself. She continues walking ignoring my statement "bitch" I say under my breath, still staring at the corner to see if she will come back.

"Hey, babe" Cato says in his deep voice.

"Hey, Cato" I reply searching the crowds of people who have gathered because of my little conversation with Ms. Coin. God, do these people have anything better to do?

"Are you coming to mine before the party tonight?" he asked pulling my attention back to him.

"Party?" I say, confused

"Glimmers, tonight at 9" he answers raising an eyebrow. Glimmer. The number one bitch in our school. I bet the only reason I'm invited is because I'm going out with Cato; the most popular boy in our school. Don't ask me how I got him; we just sort of came together. We went to primary school together and he used to bully me all the time but he got over that and yeah. That's all I can really say.

"Oh right. Glimmers. Um, no. I can't, I'm spending time with my sister tonight" I murmur as I lean against the cold, yellow locker I'm standing next to.

"Just ditch her! You can spend time with her some other time, they're saying that Glimmer stashed some of her parent's alcohol, we can have some fun" he says, leaning in towards me. I shove my hands against his chest and push him back. He stumbles before gaining his balancing and staring at me with his deep blue eyes.

"I'm not ditching my 11 year old sister for some party! I don't even want to fucking go! Glimmer is a bitch and to be honest you being a dick at the moment!" I shout at him, waving my arms around to exaggerate. I push past him and continue walking over to Annie and Gale. How could be so rude? I know he isn't the kindest person in the world, but he usually isn't that bad!

"What was that about?" Gale asks looking shocked.

"A party." Is all I reply because I really don't want to explain.

"Am I still coming to yours and hanging with Prim?" Annie asks; worry shining through her green eyes. I frown; confused at why she thought I would ditch her so easily! I would never ditch her _or_ my sister for a party!

"Of course Annie!" I reply forcing a smile onto my lips. "Have you guys checked the notice board to find out whose tent you're in?" I ask trying to change the topic off the stupid party and my big-headed boyfriend.

"yeah, you're with me, that quiet girl; Madge Undersee and a girl I don't know called Johanna Mason" Annie answers and a stupid grin spreads across my face. Yes! I'm with Annie! At least that will make this trip bearable!

"Yeah, and I'm with _Finnick Odair" _gale continues, saying Finnick's name in the most seductive voice he can manage "Peeta Mellark; I'm pretty sure he is the guy that works at the bakery down the road from your house, Katniss. And a guy called Mark Tosken" he finishes.

"Well we better get moving before we miss our next class!" Annie says in her small sweet voice. I begin to rummage through my bag looking for my timetable to find out what class I have next. After a few moment of searching, I give up and zip my bag back up. Annie rolls her eyes at how unorganised I am.

"You have _Phys Ed._ with Gale" she sighs. The moment she says it I realise I haven't got my cheerleading stuff yet and that it is still in my locker. At the beginning of the year we have a choice between fitness, cheerleading, volley ball and tennis for Phys Ed. I was going to choose fitness because that's what Gale was doing and I don't mind running but the teacher put me in cheerleading because apparently I'm _petite enough to be thrown but still strong enough to do the flips. _I don't mind cheerleading, it isn't too bad. It gets you a lot of attention from the guys if I am to tell the truth.

"Shit! I have to get my cheerleading stuff! I'll see you at lunch!" I shout as I sprint down the hall in the direction of my locker.


	2. Enjoying The View

**Second chapter is finally up! And I would like to say a big, big thankyou to the people already following and favourite-ing my story! It makes me feel so happy! And thankyou to the guest who gave me my first review! I was so excited! **

**Anyway! This chapter has the first interaction between Katniss and Peeta.. It's not much.. But it is something! Enjoy reading! And give me your thoughts! **

**CH2 – Enjoying the View**

Peeta POV

"The girls come running for me! You can't deny it Peeta! I mean look at that group of girls over there. They are eyeing me down right now" Finnick says nodding his head towards a group of 4 girls; 3 of them were blonde and 1 was a brunette, they were all wearing skimpy outfits that matched. I rolled my eyes at the sight of them; these girls have no respect for_ themselves_. Finnick always bagged me out for saying that a majority of the girls at our school have no respect for themselves.

"That's the point" he had said "we get a nice view and they get the attention that they are scratching for" he told me. It still didn't change my thoughts towards the situation. They really should just put some decent clothes on.

"Finnick, shut up!" I say shoving him into a locker as we walk down the hall way.

"Come on, peet! You need to lighten up." Finnick said after catching up with me again. I ignored him as we began to round the corner of the hallway. Suddenly I'm smashed to the floor and I can feel weight on top of me, my shirt has been pulled up to my chest from sliding across the floor "what the fuck?!" I say trying to steady myself enough to stand up again.

"Oh, shit, I'm so sorry about… that… sorry" The girl says as I pull down my shirt.

"Yeah well, watch the fuck where you're –" I look up and see no other than Katniss Everdeen standing in front of me. Her long, dark brown hair was in a loose braid sitting over her shoulder, she was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a large grey sweeter that went down to her higher-thigh. Finally a girl that wore normal clothes! Her brown was bag slung over her right shoulder. She was eyeing the floor while bitting bottom lip. It was kind of… _hot._ She gazed back up at me her hard grey eyes looking into mine and I realised I hadn't finished my sentence. "um.. just.. yeah, watch where you are going… when.. like your running" I stuttered. My words just weren't coming to me, usually I'm good with words, I usually find the right words for everything but my mind was a mess and I couldn't stop my eyes from flickering over her once more. Her hands where fidgeting under her sweater cuffs and her gaze dropped back down to her feet.

"well, well, well… maybe it's you, Peeta Mellark, that has the girls running for you" Finnick says joyfully, making me jump. I completely forgot he was there. It had felt like no one else was here other than me and Katniss. I punched him hard on the arm making him whimper.

"what the fuck was that for?" he said rubbing him arm, gazing between me and Katniss. Katniss let out a little laugh which gained her a evil glare from Finnick

"soo.. I have to get more cheerleading stuff. Sorry about running into you and just a little reminder Finnick, I'm taken" she says giving Finnick a little wink as she begins to make her way around us.

"Maybe not after that argument you and Cato had, huh?" Finnick shouted out in her direction. My mouth gaped open, sure I had heard about their argument but for Finnick to just shout that out to her shocked me. She had stopped 2 meters in front of us and spun around.

"How did you hear about that, pretty boy?" she said glaring at him with her eyes that were now a steely grey.

"Word travels, heard it was pretty big, you shoving him and everything, maybe you two should sort out your problems" he replied with a shrug. She stormed back over to him and stood just inches from his face.

"If you dare say another word about my relationship, I swear I will find you and smash your face in and make it not so pretty anymore" she said pointing her finger into her chest. I tried as hard as I could hold back a laugh as Finnick's face went pale white. She then backed off and walked down the hall way waving her hand back at me and then giving Finnick the finger.

"Shit, she is feisty, I like it" Finnick said with a wide grin across his face after she was out of ears-reach. The image of Finnick flirting and making-out with Katniss ran through my mind and I almost threw-up in disgust. I glared at him and started walking again not waiting for him to catch up.

"oii! Peet, come on! You know I'm only joking" he says as he jogs back up to my side. "Why do you care so much anyway? I mean I would understand if you were friends, but you have never ever talked to her" he said looking back over his shoulder in the direction she went and then back and me. His eyes continue to flicker to the two locations and end up landing on my face. I continue looking forward too scared to let him see my expression.

"you mean.. so you.." he pauses. "You like her?" he says so quickly that it is barely audible. I continue looking forward, ignoring his question. He comes to a sudden stop in the middle of the corridor letting people push past him as they head to the next class room. I know he won't move until I answer him so I spin around and eye him down.

"yes." I snap at him looking to the ground at the heat raises to my cheeks and I can feel the sweat on the back of my neck. I already know what his reaction will be. He will bag me out again for going for someone who isn't a _slut_. I feel nervous just thinking about it. I look back up to him and see a huge grin across his face as he stares at me. I roll my eyes and spin around and continue heading towards the change rooms for Phys Ed. He jogs back up to me and punches my shoulder lightly

"Well good for you, man" he says and I can't help but smile.

**-Time lapse-**

I watch her as they repetitively throw her up into the air and catch her again, her cheerleading uniform flying up every time. I can faintly hear their chant as I run the up and down the field. I enjoyed doing fitness for sport, it gave me time to think. I pick up the pace of my jogging and listen as my feet thump against the soft grass in a rhythmic pattern. I begin to hear my heart-beat in my ears and know im pushing my self to hard so I slow down a little, glancing back to the cheerleaders.

"Anyone you have your eye on, Mellark?" a rough voice says from beside me, startling me and making me loose the rhythm in my run almost causing me to fall over. I look up and see Gale Hawthorne standing there, sweat dripping from his head, plastering his hair to his forehead. His arms are swaying as he runs and he has a smirk pushed onto his mouth.

"Nah, how about you" I say coolly, Looking forward to the endless grass ahead of us.

"Yeah, maybe" he replies, the smirk on his face quickly turning in to a grin. That doesn't surprise me. Gale has had heaps of girlfriends, he never stays with them long but they are full-on as soon as they start. "Just enjoying the view then?" Gale says, giving me a small wink and running ahead of me because I have a chance to answer his question.

I have a small pit in my stomach, turning and twisting making me feel nauseous. I knew that Gale and Katniss were good friends but is she the one he was looking at? Does Gale have a thing for Katniss? The thought makes me feel empty; of course Katniss would choose Gale over me! She doesn't even know me… But there was that one time; I helped her with an exam last year, she was failing maths and needed her grades to improve to be able to continue at the school. I tutored her the day before the exam and she passed. I sigh, she probably doesn't even remember that day, but for me it is imprinted in my mind and I relive it every night, in my sleep.

**Hope you enjoyed the second chapter! I had trouble writing the last paragraph so it's a bit sloppy but never mind! Please review!**


	3. Girl's Night!

**Okay! Chapter 3 is up now! Pretty excited about it.. It's a cute chapter with Prim in it and first chapter in Annie's POV! Anyway a big thankyou to **'Justahappyreader' **for your review! I'm glad you like it! Can't wait till I get to the actual camp because that's when the fun starts ;) also I am going to be updating daily because I have written ahead a few chapters but I will end up going back to once or twice a week when I catch up to when I have written to.**

**Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter, I think it is a really fun chapter **

**CH3 – Girls Night **

Annie POV

"Okay prim, which ice-cream o you want to get for tonight?" I ask Katniss' younger sister, desperately hoping she would choose 'cookies and cream' because it is my most absolute favourite ice-cream!

"I like cookies and cream" she says and my face immediately lights up until she continues on "but I also like strawberry delight! I can't choose! Okay… I'm going to choossssseee… strawberry delight" she says happily, she reaches into the freezer and grabs the largest tub of strawberry delight, she turns to me with a big smile that goes right to her eyes plastered on her face and places the tub in the basket.

"Okay, now we need to get chocolate, chips and a drink" I sigh, slightly sad that we didn't end up getting 'cookies and cream'. I look around the small store for the isles with the food that we need. Prim grabs my wrist with her small hands and begins to drag me through the store, her 2 blonde braids swaying. She leads me to the confectionary isle and walks over to the shelves filled with the chocolate blocks. She reaches her hand up into one of the shelves and grabs a block of caramel chocolate and spins around to face me

"This is the chocolate we are getting, no debating, Annie" Prim says, sounding twice the age she is. I try as hard as I can to hide the laugh that is creeping into my mouth.

"Okay little missy! You are so much like your sister!" I say pulling at her two braids "your love for caramel and your stubbornness" she giggles and begins to blush. We continue our shopping and in no time we have ended up with the tub of 'strawberry delight' ice-cream, a packet of 'salt and vinegar' and 'bbq' chips because Prim couldn't decide and a big bottle of coke. We pay for the food and leave

* * *

We walk through the door and I slump myself down on the old, worn-down couch in Katniss' apartment, my legs aching from walking around all day at school.

"Come on Annie! You can't sit down now! We still have to organise all the food into bowls, order the pizza and bring the mattresses into the living room!" Prim squeals as she stands behind the couch shaking me by my shoulders. I curl my legs up to my chest and place my head onto my knees.

"I don't wanna!" I whine, childishly, earning myself a little giggle from Prim. I quickly turn around and reach my hand out and start tickling her. Prim try's to squirm from my grip but fails and I tickle her even more. When I stop Prim is lying on the floor out of breathe and I'm the one giggling.

After a while of laughing and catching our breathes, I get up and call dominoes to order the pizza. I get 2 meatlovers; for me and Katniss and 1 Hawaiian; for Prim. Once that is finished I go help Prim with the matrices. We grab one double mattresses and one single one and lay them down in front of the small plasma TV. We then head into the kitchen and open the packets of food and place them into separate bowls, I grab a packet of microwavable popcorn and follow the instructions on the back of the packet. We place the bowls of food on the small, wooden coffee table that we pushed out the way to make way for the matrices.

We finish setting up the place, ready for Katniss to get home and slip back down onto the old couch.

"I got the movies!" Katniss says as she walks through the front door. Me and prim swing our heads as Katniss walks through the door frame and into the living room. Her has an excited glow to it, she has a dark green duffle bag slung over her shoulder and is holding up 5 different movies in her hands.

"what theme did ya' go with?" I ask her, curious towards what we are going to be watching.

"Romance" she says in a quiet, seductive voice. Prim starts giggling and I roll my eyes at Katniss, holding back the fit of laughter that is rippling through my body. Katniss then winks towards me and I can't hold it back, falling off the couch in a fit of laughter. Katniss slides one of the 5 DVD's into the slot of the DVD player and hits the play button. 'The Notebook' starts playing and I squeal in excitement. This is my favourite movie of all time!

"I wish I had a relationship like theirs" I sigh, halfway through the movie "oh talking about relationships… have you sorted out things with Cato?" I ask Katniss, raising my left eyebrow.

"Um, no… not yet" she says, staring at her hands as she fiddles with the seam of her t-shirt.

"You probably should before the trip tomorrow… won't be too fun dealing with it then, you know?" I say chuckling a little, trying to lighten the mood.

"Crap! I need to pack and get the money for it! And I'm pretty sure we should set an alarm… I'm not a morning person" She says, springing from her seat and running into her room. I pull out my phone and set the alarm for 3:30am giving us an hour to wake up, have breakfast and get ready and 30 minutes to drive to school.

* * *

Katniss comes out of her room half an hour later, her hair coming out of her braid and she is breathing heavily. It looks like she ran a marathon or something. I snicker at the thought, which makes Katniss raise her eyebrows expectedly but I ignore it. I look back at the movie and notice Prim has fallen asleep down on the single mattress, breathing lightly. Katniss looks down at her sister sleeping peacefully, wrapped in the blankets then back up to me.

"So… do you think that I should end things with Cato?" she says quietly, I'm guessing trying not to rouse her sister.

"Erghh… I don't know! Last time I gave you relationship advice it didn't go down too well, remember?" I giggle and the memory of it.

"Yeah that's 'cause you tried to set me up with gale!" she says and then starts laughing. It was when we were 15. Both, Katniss and Gale was single, which was a surprise; Gale was usually running around with some girl. Anyway, Katniss also wanted a boyfriend so I set them up on a blind date.

"Well if I'm so bad with relationships advice _Ms. know it all! _What advice would you give for my lonely heart?" I say, pouting out my lower lip and clutching my hands over the place my hand should be. Katniss laughs and then straightens herself out

"well, Ms. Cresta, I would recommend finding yourself a boyfriend… and it is the perfect time for boyfriend hunting due to the beach trip you will be leaving on tomorrow morning" Katniss says in a professional voice "I could recommend some boys if you like" she continues.

"That would be wonderful" I say delightfully

"Hmm… what about _Finnick Odair!"_ she says shouting his name in excitement and then laughing loudly.

"Eww! Mr. I'm a sex god! No way!" I manage to get out through fits of laughter. "Well you should get together with that bread boy!" I shout back at her, giggling afterwards.

"Who? The guy who works at the bakery? Peeta Mellark?" she asks me raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah! Him… he's pretty hot, you know!" I say smiling at her, she doesn't say anything just smiles and then begins to laugh

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter I had a lot of fun writing it…. leave a review with your thoughts!**


	4. Wakey, Wakey

**Hey guys! Here is chapter 4.. It is a sloppy chapter and I'm not really happy with it but it gets its job done! Thankyou to the guest viewer for your review! It means so much! Hope you guys enjoy! I'm already writing CH7, so I'm a bit ahead so I'm going to be updating every day for a while :) **

**CH4 – Wakey, Wakey**

Katniss POV

"_BEEP, BEEP, BEEP" _

"Erghh! Annie what time is, so early, more sleep" Is all I manage to mumble through my state of sleep. I wait for her to answer, but she doesn't. "ANNIE!" I shout sluggishly. Still no answer. I begin to swing my arms rapidly on the other half of the soft, double mattress, where Annie should be sleeping, but her body isn't there. I slowly raise my right eyelid and realize it is still dark out. I peer around the small living room of my apartment and notice that Prim is still sleeping, her breaths slow and quiet. I reach my hand for my phone on the carpeted floor next to the mattress to turn off the alarm. I fiddle with it for a while before I hold it in front of my face, opening both eyes to see it clearly. The screen of the phone is on the normal home screen and I realise Annie set the alarm on her phone, not mine. I push myself up and red my head on the couch behind me.

"ANNIEE!" I shout, becoming annoyed at the alarm on her phone that is still going off.

"In the kitchen, Katniss" Annie says, her voice a low murmur. I stand up and drag my feet along the carpeted floor as I walk towards the kitchen. The light coming from the small florescent light I have in my kitchen burns through my eyes as it becomes my intense the closer I get. Squinting my eyes I make out the shape of Annie standing in front of the sink with 2 cups of coffee in her hands. As my eyes adjust to the lighting I notice a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon sitting on the wooden counter of my kitchen.

"Coffee?" Annie asks as she passes me one of the cups in her hands. "I also made you some breakfast, I already ate mine" she says sweetly. It is just like Annie to do something like this. I grab the old cracked stool I have sitting under the counter and slump down on it.

"What timessit" I slur, still not completely awake. I take a sip of my coffee hoping it will help me wake up.

"3:50 in the morning, we have to be out of here by four" she says, sipping the last bit of her coffee.

"I will go get dressed then" I say slowly because the coffee still hasn't kicked it. I place the coffee onto the counter and walk to my bedroom. I pull out a pair of faded, skinny jeans and a black oversized t-shirt with a brown leather jacket and a big cargo-green knitted scarf. I slip my feet into a pair of black boots and grab the duffel bag that I packed last night and throw it onto my bed. I dig into my small cupboard and grab one of my old, small backpacks. In the backpack I shove in my keys, phone and wallet. Then I walk to the wooden dresser that sits next to the big window in my room and pull open the top draw, I rummage through it and find the old watch my dad gave me before he died and wrapped it around my wrist and clip it down. I then reach into the draw and grab a pair of sunnies that use to be my dad's and slip them into my backpack. I reach over my bed and grab my pillow and duffle bag and head back into the living room where Annie is sitting on the couch playing with her phone.

"Ready to go?" she asks jumping up and walking over to the door. I carry my bags over and dump them by the door frame.

"I need to wake prim" I say and turn back into the living room. I kneel down beside the mattress and shake her softly. "Wakey, wakey, little duck" I whisper into her ear. Her eyes flutter open slowly, still droopy from sleepiness. "You have to get up to go to Gale's house" I tell her.

When I was 16 and Prim was 9, our father died from cancer, it wasn't a surprise, we all knew he was going to go, but it doesn't change how much I miss him. A year and a half later our mother was diagnosed with clinical depression so they put her on medication. Half a year later, they decided she hadn't improved so they put her into the hospital, luckily by then I was 18, meaning I could be listed as Prim's legal guardian so we didn't have to go to foster homes. Gale still lives with his mother and brothers so while I'm away Prim's going to be staying at their house.

"Come on Prim, I have to go" I say and shake her, a little rougher this time. She gets to her feet unsteadily and gets changed into a brown skirt and white shirt. She braids her wavy blonde hair into two braids like always and picks up the bag she packed yesterday. I put my arm over her shoulder and guide her to the front door.

We step out into the piercing, cold morning air and head down the staircase that leads to the parking lot. I jump in the front seat of my car and slam the door, trying to trap in as much heat as I can. Annie sits in the passenger seat next to me and Prim sits in the back. I start the car and we head to Gale's house.

**Time lapse**

"Be good, Prim and Listen to Hazel! I will be back before you know it, little duck!" I say and kiss her on the forehead. Her cheeks flush a bright red.

"Katniss! Don't call me that! Gale's brothers are here" she says giggling. I laugh and pull her into a tight hug.

"I'm going to miss you, you know that right?" I tell her, feeling tears build up in my eyes. I never left Prim after my father died. I was always by her side. As my mum got worse and worse, I ended up caring for her, I was the only thing she had left. I don't know how I'm going to deal with leaving her for 2 weeks. "Text me every night okay?" I tell her as the tears begin to flow down my cheeks.

"Oh come on, catnip. My brothers will make her feel at home!" Gale says "won't you Rory" he continues, nodding towards his younger brother. He is Prims age and goes to the same school as her. Rory's cheeks blush a bright red and he scampers inside the house. "Kids these days" Gale says nudging my arm. I wipe my tears away and look to the entrance to Gale house where Prim is now standing.

"I love you" I mouth to her; she does the same and then runs inside the house.

"Chuck your stuff in the back" I mumble to Gale, my voice not steady yet. He does as I say and then slides into the seat that Prim was sitting in while I get back into the driver's seat and start the car. I check the time on the dash; it is 4:15am so we still have 45 minutes to get to school. I pull out of Gale's driveway and head down the street.

"Hey Gale" Annie says in her sweet little voice after a few moments of silence.

"Hey Annie, how was your girls night?" he asks, a smirk wiping across his face. I smile to myself as I remember how last night panned out. After our little relationship advice session we had tried to name all of the girls gale has gone out with, Annie had tried to include me because of our little blind date but I didn't let her. We ended up getting to 47 and they were only the girls we _knew_ about. Annie bursts out laughing causing my smile turn into more of a grin.

"What?!" Gale asks watching as Annie losses it in the passenger seat

"Did you know you have been out with more than 47 girls, Gale?" I ask him calmly, raising an eyebrow. Gale looks confused but his face tones into a dark red, he looks out the window, which causes me to laugh.

"How do you know that?" he snaps at us.

"It's called maths" Annie says still laughing. We spend the rest of the car ride in silence besides the Gale mumbling something about _invasion of privacy_ and _they have no right to do that_.

We arrive at school 20 minutes later and I weave through all the people crowding around talking to get to my classroom. I walk through the door and see only a few other people in the classroom, Cato was sitting in his seat up in the back right corner talking to his friend Marvel. I dig through my bag and find the small envelope that I had stashed the money in, I hand it to Ms. Coin and she gives me an approving nod even though her eyes tell a different story. I start to head to my seat and catch a glimpse of Cato staring at me, a give him a weary smile and look back down at my feet, I need to sort things out with him but I really don't want to do it now, especially with my lack of sleep.

I don't realise until I'm standing right at my seat that Finnick is sitting in it, talking to Peeta who is sitting on my desk.

"What are you doing" I snap, eyeing him down as he smiles at me.

"Ahh! Katniss, how lovely to see you!" Finnick says, ignoring my question. "Excited for the trip?" he asks.

"Why would you care?" I say, repositioning my bag on my shoulders and tightening my grip on my duffle bag.

"Well… because I think this trip is going to be very interesting" He says, smiling at Peeta and then giving me a wink. What is with this guy? I'm glad I'm not spending 2 weeks in a tent with _him._


	5. Bare All

**This was such a fun chapter to write! A lot of joking around between the characters so I really like it I just want to know if you guys want Everlark to come sooner or later? Like would you prefer Katniss to be really stubborn and ignore Peeta or she get with him like straight away? Oh yeah… there is Everlark in this story hahaha :)) please tell me in a review!**

**CH5 – Bare All**

Katniss POV

I step onto the coach that is taking us on our 12 hour journey and look around; there are 2 rows of seats that are covered in an ugly, blue material. There is an isle in between them and right down the end is a row of 3 seats along the back of the bus. There are a few people already in the bus, sorting out their shit for the trip. I slowly walk up the bus and sit in the seat next to the window at the very back. Gale slumps down next to me and Annie sits lightly next to him. I shove my duffel bag underneath my seat and place my back pack where my feet are.

"This is going to be one fucking long trip" I sigh, dreading this 12 hour bus drive. I mean couldn't we catch a plane or something?! It would make this trip like 10 times more enjoyable! I turn and face out the window thinking of my dad and how much I miss him. The seats in front of me start to shake, probably from someone sitting down in them but I don't look up, I really don't care who is sitting in front of me as long as they don't annoy me.

"Hello everyone, I'm Ray; your driver for this trip" the speakers crackle. "It will be a 12 hour trip with 5 stops along the journey that will be around 20 minutes each; during the 5 stops you will be allowed to leave the bus for the toilet, to buy some food or to just stretch. At the moment it is 5:30 and we will be leaving in 5 minutes" the speaker cuts off and soft, melodic song. My head is still resting on the glass window and I can hear Gale and Annie talking softly. The people in the seats in front of me continue to move and start to piss me off. _Just fucking sit still!_ I feel like shouting at them but restrain from doing it because I know it won't end well. The coach jolts forward causing me to hit my heat on the back of the seat in front of me and then continues at a steady pace.

"Fucking hell" I shout as a furiously rub where I hit my head. After a few moments I pull my backpack up onto my lap and unzip it to find my phone. I pull it out. '_one new message'_ is written on the screen. I swipe open my phone and open up the messenger app

**Prim:** having fun yet? :)

I begin to type into my phone.

**Me:** just smashed my head so I'm going to say no, what r u doing on ur phone at school little duck ;)

**Prim:** its recess doesn't really matter! I hope ur trip bcomes better and don't 4get 2 have fun with cato ;)

I roll my eyes at the message she sent me. Prim's always laughing at my relationship with Cato, mainly because she thinks I don't actually like him.

**Me:** u better not b looking at any boys, primrose Everdeen! You are only 12! Do u think I should end things with Cato? Miss u x

**Prim:** I don't know! It's your decision… and what if I am looking at boys? :P there is this 1 boy… ;) 2 bad I cant tell u about him cause I have 2 go 2 class, talk 2 u l8er :) xx

I shut off my phone and shove it back into my bag. It only settles in now. PRIM LIKES SOMEONE! I gasp at the realisation and Gale turns to face me.

"Something wrong, Catnip?" He asks looking concerned.

"Prim has a crush!" I blurt out looking him in the eye. He laughs. I can't believe he thinks this is funny!

What if he _hurts_ her!?

What if he _rejects_ her?!

What if he _breaks her little heart!?_

I get a headache as the thoughts come rushing through my mind. I moan and lean my head against the glass window again, looking at the blur of colour that comes rushing past the window. I feel my eyelids become heavy and my arms become limp

**Time lapse**

I must have fallen asleep because my head is now on Gales shoulder and the chair in front of me is reclined so far back that it is practically resting on my lap. Oh this is it. The two fucking people in front of me have already pissed me off and this is just pushing it too far.

"Do you fucking mine?!" I grumble to the blondish-brown haired boy in the chair, I can't make out who he is.

"Ahh… sleeping beauty has finally awoken" _he_ says. _Finnick _says. Man why won't he leave me alone. His glistening, green eyes looking up at me from the awkward spot in my lap.

"Yeah well I didn't get much sleep last night, asshole" I mumble, pissed that _he_ is sitting in front of me. I run my hand over my face and look around the bus; a majority of people are awake and chatting. "What time is it?" I ask curiously.

"Around 11 or 12, I think" Finnick says, a grin spread across his lips. If its 11 that means I have been asleep for like 5 hours!

"I have been asleep for around 5 hours?!" I burst, surprised at how long I managed to sleep.

"Yep! Your head ended up on my lap but I moved it to my shoulder" gale says happily, giving me a wink. I lightly punch him on the arm. I lean forward and look past Gale to see Annie; still asleep. I reach down and grab my backpack and pull it back onto my lap. I rummage through my bag trying to find my find until I realise.

"Shit! I forgot to pack food! I'm absolutely starving! Anyone have anything?" I ask desperately as my stomach rumbles. I look to Gale hopefully. He shakes his head, I then turn to Finnick who is still has his seat positioned on my lap, I still can't make out who he is sitting with, though! I stick out my bottom lip and clap my hands together.

"pleaseeee Finny!" I whine, forgetting about my hate for this guy because of the idea that he might have food

"Sorry, I have a very strict diet to keep these babies in good shape" Finnick says lifting his shirt up to his neck revealing his abs. I feel my jaw drop at the sight of his bare chest. _It's beautiful _is all I can think.

"Holy shit!" I mumble under my breath hoping no one will hear but the person sitting next to Finnick hears me and laughs a little. I glare at the back of his head… I still don't know who he is!

"Finnick, pull your shirt down! You're making the girls drool" The person beside Finnick says, I know that voice. It's Peeta Mellark. So that's who is sitting next to Finnick! I roll my eyes at his statement. Finnick looks up at me and winks as his signature grin spreads across his face.

"Oh.. Come on Peety! Just 'cause you're jealous of my beautiful body" Finnick says, doing jazz fingers over his torso.

"Oh am I jealous of your beautiful body finny? Really? Well I can't see how I can be jealous if I have this" Peeta says with a smirk on his face as he lifts his shirt to his neck just like Finnick did. My eyes snap from Finnick's bare chest to Peeta's and I hear myself gasp. I did get a glimpse of Peeta's body when I fell on him and his shirt pulled up but I didn't realise _how _muscular and fit he really is. His abs are toned and he has a golden tan, there are a few scars running over his body that make his body look even hotter… that makes _him _look even hotter. My eyes gaze up to his face that is now facing Finnick so I can see him. His blond messy hair that swipes up; he has really good hair, his light blue eyes that have flecks of gold and darker blue running through them, his angular jaw and bronzed skin. I feel something flip in my stomach when I look at his lips; they are a soft pink and slightly cracked…

They are so… _kissable_.

_He _is so kissable!

No! What are you talking about Katniss! So what he is hot? A lot of people in our year are hot! _Cato _is hot! And he is my boyfriend. Why am I thinking about kissing _Peeta_ if I am with _Cato!_

I hear Peeta cough and I realise I was staring; I drop my gaze down to my lap. What was I thinking, I don't like him! I am not a slut who cheats on her boyfriend and I'm not going to end up being one! I hear Finnick stifle a laugh and I can tell everyone's eyes are on me, I feel the heat in my cheeks and I know they are probably a bright red. Shit! Why do I have to blush so much?!

**Tada! I bit of fun in this chapter and there will be some more in the next chapter as well :)**


	6. Not Interested

**First 'real' interaction between Katniss and Peeta in this chapter! So I hope you enjoy. It was another really fun chapter to write because it has heaps of joking between the characters! Leave your thoughts in a review!**

**CH6 – Not interested.**

Peeta POV

I can't help but smile as Katniss' eyes glaze over my now, bare torso. I look up at Finnick and he raises his eyebrow and nods in Katniss' direction a gin beginning to smear over his face. I see Gale looking uncomfortable next to her and mentally snicker. Then I look back at Katniss who now has her eyes positioned on my lips. I cough, pulling her back to reality and she looks down at her lap. Finnick stifles a laugh and Gale clears his throat awkwardly. I laugh and then pull down my shirt and Finnick does the same.

"Oh yeah, Katniss… I, um, I have some cheese buns from my families bakery, if you want them" I say digging through my backpack and pulling out the cheese buns that are in a paper bag. I had the bag to Katniss through the small crack between my and Finnick's chair. I smile spreads across her face. I have never seen her smile, she looks _beautiful._

"Are you _serious!?_ I fucking love the cheese buns from you bakery! They are so good!" she all but shouts. I never noticed Katniss come into the bakery; it must have been during my brothers shifts.

"Oh and your brother; Rye, I think it is. He's a dick" She says shoving parts of the cheese buns into her mouth.

"Yeah… he is, what did he do?" I ask, laughing at the thought of my brother pissing Katniss off. Rye is only a year younger than me and he likes to be a bit of a jerk.

"Oh, he just said shit like 'I would bang that' and 'she is fucking hot' and that" She says casually. I'm fucking going to kill Rye when I get home. I laugh trying to act unfazed about the situation. She takes another chuck of the cheese buns and moans in delight, I feel the corners of my mouth twitch upwards.

"Okay, now that you are finished with your little 'abs contest', Finnick could you put your chair back" Katniss says rolling her eyes.

"But you haven't chosen a winner!" Finnick whines, I crack up laughing along with Gale and hear a little giggle come from past him. Katniss leans forward and looks at Annie, who is awake now and looks like she is about to lose it.

"Hey! I thought you were asleep… but obviously not! So… Who would you pick Annie?" Katniss says, winking at her. Annie's eyes widen and she looks around nervously.

"Um… well… i-i… I would choose Finnick!" she gushes and her cheeks become a fiery red.

"One for me bitches!" Finnick cheers "you're next Gale" he continues winking at Gale seductively. I stifle a laugh at how uncomfortable Gale is looking right now.

"I don't really like to compare other guys abs in my spare time, but I understand if you're into that sort of thing, Finnick" Gale answers, coolly. "Oh, don't be a pussy! Just choose someone, Gale" Finnick says impatiently.

"Okay… Peeta, I guess?" he says awkwardly as he busies himself with his backpack.

"The deciding vote! Who are you going to choose, Katniss?!" Annie squeals loudly.

"Well…" Katniss starts, I can feel the insides of me flip as I begin to hope she chooses me. "Finnick's abs are perfectly tanned and are toned pretty well" she says and Finnick instantly lights up.

"I'm the winn-" Finnick starts quickly getting cut off by Katniss.

"But! Peeta's abs are perfectly tanned, toned pretty well and he has scars and scars make everything better?" she says. I laugh

"Suck it bro! My body is better!" I say as Finnick sticks his tug out at me like a little kid who just lost a running race.

"How did you get those scars anyway?" Katniss asks, startling me.

"Umm.. I don't really remember, fights with my brothers and stuff I guess" I laugh nervously. Of course I remember how I got these scars but I can't tell her, she would pity me and I don't want that.

"How can you forget how you got scars like that?" she asks, unconvinced. The bus starts to slow and I can see a small petrol station up ahead. I look at my phone and see that it is 12:37. Lunchtime.

"Um… I'm going to buy some lunch, anyone else want to come?" I ask, changing the subject.

"Yeah I need some water" Katniss says, jumping up out of her seat and beginning to walk down the aisle towards the front of the bus.

Shit.

I'm going to be alone with her. I mean it's great… alone time with Katniss but I can almost guarantee she will ask about the scars again and I really don't want to tell her about it. I jump up from my sit grabbing my wallet from my back pack and shoving it in my back pocket along with my phone. I begin to walk down the aisle behind other people who are getting off the bus. Once I'm off the bus, I spot Katniss waiting besides the door of the petrol station. I shove my hands in my pockets and walk over to her.

"I'll get my food and then meet you at the register?" I say as we walk through the automatic doors.

"Sounds good" she says as she walks over to the fridge. I follow her, grabbing a mother and then head over to the heater where they have sausage rolls and pies. I grab one of both and then walk over a shelf in the middle of the store and grab a packet of chips. I see Katniss standing at the counter and walk over to her and grab 2 chocolate bars along the way, one twirl and one boost. I dump my food on the counter and Katniss' eyes widen.

"You're going to eat all that food?" she says eyeing the pile of food on the counter.

"Let's just say I'm not like pretty boy, who needs a _diet_ to keep my babies in good condition" I say smirking at the thought. "But if your nice, ill share my chocolate with you" I saying, giving her a cheeky wink along with it. She starts laughing.

"That will be $18.40 and I'm going to need your number with that" The blonde haired girl at the counter says, battering her long eyelashes. She is wearing a white half top with half her boobs hanging out; she has curly blonde hair and blue eyes which are trailing my body carefully. Katniss holds her hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from laughing as her eyes flicker between me and the blonde haired girl. I push the money onto the counter and smile.

"Well I'm going to need a pen then" I reply to the blonde girl. Katniss' eyes go wide and her mouth drops open and I have to use everything in me not to burst out laughing. The blonde girl giggles and then leans over so her boobs are hanging out even more and just to annoy Katniss I stare at them. Katniss rolls her eyes and then shifts her weight from one leg to another and puts one of her hands on her hips. I grab out an old bus ticket out of my pocket and grab the pen that the blond hands me. I cover the piece of paper with one hand and write on it with the other. I scoop up my food in one arm and then push the old push ticket forward, on it is **'not interested'** scribbled in my messy writing.

I turn on my heels and head for the door. After a few steps, I hear the blond girl gasp loudly and Katniss start laughing loudly as they realise what is written on the bus ticket. I continue walking, smirking as I walk through the door. Katniss comes running up to me still laughing loudly and slows down once she catches up.

"That was great!" she says through her laughing as we get in the line to get into the bus.

"Long distance relationships never work" I joke and her laughing becomes even louder. Thank god she hasn't brought up my scars again. I step onto the bus, Katniss behind me and start walking down the aisle.

"That was so good!" she begins laughing yet again. "I so want to do that again" she says and I smile. I can feel eyes on me and I look to my left and lock eyes with Cato; Katniss' _boyfriend_. He looks angry; I snicker and turn my head back to Katniss and smile just to piss Cato off further.


	7. Keep Your Mouth Shut

**Chapter 6 is here! I really don't like this chapter… it's really shit and pretty short :( but anyway please leave thoughts in a review!**

**CH7 – Keep Your Mouth Shut**

Gale POV

She came stumbling down the aisle behind Peeta, laughing and saying something about 'that being so good'. I know I'm probably looking at this wrong because to me it looks like she just came back from making out with someone, but this is Katniss we are talking about. Katniss isn't a slut. She is going out with Cato… well I think she is going out with Cato; they might have broken up after their argument. Even if she _isn't _going out with Cato…

She wouldn't just go and make out with Peeta!

She barely knows him!

And she isn't one of those girls who just run around making out with every boy in the school…

Is she?

She stumbles into her seat beside me letting out a sigh as she does. She opens the water bottle that is in her hand and takes a sip from it and freezes. She slowly pulls the bottom away from her lips and sits there staring at it for a few moments. What is she doing?

"Peeta… did I end up paying for this?" she whispers, her eyes full of shock and worry. Peeta begins to laugh loudly but she doesn't budge. She sits there completely still until the coach jolts forwards again and then resumes a constant speed. A look of relief washes over her body, she sighs and then she begins to laugh along with Peeta. I catch Finnick looking back at Peeta as confused as me. I feel the anger rise in me.

What the hell did they do together?

It's all I am thinking right now. I think the anger registered on my face because a large grin wipes over Finnick's face and I have a feeling he knows why I'm angry. He slowly opens his mouth to talk and I shake my head ferociously, signalling him to stop.

If he opens that mouth _he_ is dead. If he tells Katniss that I'm angry about her and Peeta's little moment… _I'm_ dead. She will know that I have feeling for her. Feelings that are stronger than she thinks. She will know that I _love _her.

"I think someone is a little jelou-" Finnick starts but I quickly cut him off.

"What's so funny?" I ask sending a daring look to Finnick. If he wants to stay alive for these 2 weeks he's going to have to learn when to keep his mouth shut because I'm not afraid to hurt someone.

"Yeah Katniss! What were you and _Peeta Mellark_ up to?" Annie asks, mischievously with a smirk. Katniss begins to explain what happened while they were inside the petrol station and how he wrote 'not interested' on the bus ticket. A wave of relief floods through me, washing away every inch of anger, well besides the anger for Finnick. He was pushing it too far. We continue to make small talk about our favourite movies and funniest moments.

"There was this one time!" Finnick starts saying while smiling. "In year 10; I think it was. After phys ed. Peeta was having a shower in one of the stalls and I took all his clothes! It was so good! He had to talk to our sports teacher completely naked!" Finnick finishes, laughing hysterically. I can't help but laugh at it. I was there I think; I wasn't part of it, but I was there.

"Shut up Finnick!" Peeta says in between laughing, his face a bright red. We continue with small talk. Katniss talks about her little sister; Prim and Peeta talks about his 2 brothers; Rye and Graham. After a while the conversation dies down and everyone begins to entertain themselves. I pull out my phone and begin to play candy crush. Annie is reading a book, Finnick is texting someone on his phone; probably some girl, Peeta is sketching something in a book and Katniss has her head rested on the glass of the window.

"Move out the way" someone says from in front of me. I hadn't realised he was there until now. I look up and see Cato standing with his hands in the pockets of his jeans, staring at me.

"Why? This is my seat" I say, pissed that he just expects me to get up. I slide my phone into my pocket and look at Katniss who hasn't even noticed what's going on. Annie, Finnick, Peeta and almost the rest of the bus has though and they are all staring at me and Cato.

"I want to talk to Katniss" he says firmly, running one of his hands through his hair and then shoving it back into his pocket. I look over to Katniss again who is still oblivious to what is happening around her.

"Fine, where were you sitting" I say standing up and grabbing my backpack.

"A few seats down, next to a girl called Madge or something" He says, sitting down in my seat next to Katniss. I trudge down the aisle and slide into the only empty seat, so it has to be Cato's. In the window seat is a quiet girl with brown hair, who's reading a book. This is going to be fun. I pull my phone out of my pocket and start playing candy crush again. I'm up to level 123 and I can't pass it! Hopefully this will keep my entertained for the rest of the trip. Only 3 hours to go, I keep telling myself. 3 hours to go.


	8. His Words Are Empty

**Please leave a review on what you think about this chapter whether it is good or bad, I just really need some feedback on what I'm doing good/bad**

**CH8 – His Words Are Empty**

Katniss POV

The trees and the grass were rushing past my window in a blur of green. I wish I was out there running around like I use to with my dad as he taught me how to shoot arrows. I can't believe he is gone. It has been almost 3 years now since he past but it feels like just yesterday I was laughing at his stupid jokes. The tears well up in my eyes and I let one slide down my cheek.

"Hey, babe" Cato says from beside me. I quickly wipe the tear away and turn to look at him.

"Um... Hey, where did Gale go?" I ask, completely lost. Where the hell did Gale go? Why is Cato here? How long was I day dreaming for? My head begins to pound from all the thinking.

"I switched seats with him, I thought we should talk" He answers.

Shit.

Talking.

"Oh right" I say, leaning my head back onto the cool glass. I really don't want to talk right now.

"I am really sorry for being a dick" he starts, I focus on the trees and the grass and his words end up becoming background noise. I know his words mean nothing. He is just in the relationship for my mouth, he doesn't care about me. I have known this for ages but never admitted it. His words are empty, he is empty, I am empty. All he wants in my fucking body. My body. That's all he wants. I can feel the tears well up in my eyes at the realisation.

"Why are you going out with me" I burst. Spinning my head around to face him. The bus goes silent and I can feel eyes burning into me. I know they are all sitting there watching me and Cato, mouths open.

"Because… because I love you, babe" he says. Everyone's eyes are still watching us, watching how I will react. I can feel the anger in me build. I can't stand how nosey they are.

"Can you fucking mind your own business?" I shout. The bus starts to resume conversations and I know tears are pouring down my cheeks. "You don't really, Cato" I whisper. Am I going to do this? Am I going to break up with him?

"Babe, I do… I know I'm an asshole, I know what I did was stupid but I do love you" he says softly, like I'm going to just disappear. I wish I could just disappear.

"No you don't, Cato! How many girls have you said that to?! Almost this whole bus, I reckon!" I shout at him rising from my seat. Gale comes running down the coach; good thing the teachers are on a separate bus.

"Cato, I think you should go back to your seat" Finnick says. Shit. I forgot he was there. Now he is going to think he was fucking right.

"Yeah Cato, I think you should leave" Peeta adds. "We don't want to start anything, come on man" Peeta says calmly. The tears are streaming down my face. Why am I crying? I have known this relationship isn't going to work out for so long. So why am I crying?

"Man, go back to your seat" Gale says, now standing at the back of the bus. Cato gets up glaring at me.

"Katniss, are you breaking the fuck up with me?" Cato says through clenched teeth. I nod because I don't trust my voice. Cato stands there staring at me. The bus has fallen silent again. "You… you're not breaking up with me. You will realise, Katniss. You will realise that you love me… and you will come back to me" Cato snarls. I shake my head frantically.

"No, Cato. I won't" I whisper, so only he, Gale, Finnick and Peeta can hear. Cato shoves past Gale and walks down to his seat, slumping into it roughly. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding. I just broke up with him. I sit back down in my seat and Gale sits next to me. I place my head against the window and continue to watch the world go by outside.

The tears are still streaming down my cheeks, but they aren't tears for Cato, they are tears for my dad because he wasn't here to warn me about Cato, he wasn't here to tell me Cato was bad for me. If he was here, he would have told me, he would have kept me safe. I break down into a quiet sob. I miss him. I miss him so much and I miss my mum. I miss her. I miss my family. I fucking miss my family.

I feel someone's hand rubbing my back soothingly and expect it to be Gale.

"You know, I'm not going to explain what happened no matter how caring you're being" I say, chocking on my sobs. I can hear him snicker.

"I don't expect you to" Peeta says, I Spin around and see him sitting in Gale's seat, rubbing my back.

"Sorry… I thought you were Gale" I whisper and turn to face back out the window. Peeta starts to draw swirling patterns onto my back, usually I would tell him to fuck off but it's really helping me actually. I sigh, why is Peeta being so nice to me?

"You know, you've been pretty nice to me so far, so… how about some of that chocolate" He says softly. Chocolate would be so good right now. I turn back around and face him, his bright blue eyes locking me mine, the gold flecks, sparkling when the light hits them. "I have twirl or boost" He says casually, dropping his gaze to his backpack that is sitting on his lap. He pulls out the two chocolate bars and I laugh.

"A twirl would be great right now" I whisper. He hands me the chocolate bar and I unwrap it and take a bite, the chocolate melting in my mouth. I moan at how good it tastes. Peeta laughs and then takes a bite of the boost he is holding. I look down at the chocolate I am holding and laugh quietly.

"What?" He asks, looking up at me again. I busy myself with the wrapper of the chocolate bar hesitantly.

"Why are you being so nice to me" I ask, looking up at him slowly.

"That's what friends do, don't they?" he says, his smile slightly fading. I look back down at the wrapper of the chocolate bar.

"But we aren't friends" I say a little too quickly. His smile vanishes and he looks down at his chocolate, disappointment in his eyes.

"I-I didn't mean it like _that_. It's just that I have only talked to you once, when I ran you over in the hallway" I sigh, knowing that I sound like a bitch right now.

"Well… what if we became friends?" he says hesitantly, looking me in the eyes. Holy shit, he is hot. His jaw is so angular and his eyes are so blue. I shake my head to rid of the thought.

"Um... Yeah, okay" I say fiddling with my chocolate wrapper again, a smile creeping onto my lips. "Just to let you know… I'm not the best at making friends" I giggle.

What the hell was that?

I don't giggle!

"Well… let's start by getting to know each other? What's your favourite colour?" He asks casually, shifting in his seat so he is facing me a little better. I look out the window and watch the green blur flow past like a stream.

"Green, green like the forest" I say, tearing my eyes from the window but to Peeta. "What about you?" I ask, watching him fiddle with the zip on his bag.

"Orange, like a sunset" He says, smiling at me. Heat washes up into my cheeks and I know that I'm blushing. My phone rings and I reach down into my backpack pulling it out, I swipe it open and check my text messages, I have one from Prim and one from Finnick. Why did Finnick text me? He is sitting right in front of me. I roll my eyes and open the text from Prim.

**Prim:** Schools finished, I can tell u about the boy now ;) only if u tell me if the trip has gotten any better :)

Schools finished? What time is it! I look at my phone and see it is 4:00pm. We only have an hour left on this bus! I sigh and begin to type into my phone.

**Me:** The trip is better. Me and Cato broke up and I know u will b happy about that. I'm talking 2 a guy called Peeta so I have 2 go! Tell me about the boy 2night, ok? B good for Hazelle x

Hazelle is Gale's mum. I click send and then open the text from Finnick.

**Finnick:** u 2 having fun back there ;)

I roll my eyes and snicker at the text.

**Me:** I don't want 2 tell u the truth bcoz it will make u jealous :(

I hear Finnick laugh in front of me and I look back to Peeta who is sitting there patiently, my phone rings again and I look down to it. It's a text from Prim.

"Sorry" I say to Peeta, he looks up at me and then smiles. I open my texts again and read the message from Prim.

**Prim:** a GUY called Peeta! U r talking 2 a GUY that isn't Gale! YAY! Ttyl x

I laugh and roll my eyes. Peeta snickers and raises his eyebrows, making me laugh even more.

"My sister" I explain, he tilts his head slightly with his eyebrows still raised. "She… she didn't like Cato" I say, hesitantly. He snickers and begins to fiddle with his bag again; I check the time on my phone; it is 5pm which means only 35 minutes till we arrive at the camp site. I shut off my phone and shove it back into my back pack looking up to Peeta who is still fiddling. I shift in my seat awkwardly, he looks up at me and our eyes lock. I swear whenever he does that I get butterflies in my stomach, goose bumps all over my body and shivers running down my spine. My eyes flutter back down to my lap and I cough awkwardly.

"So um… how do you like your coffee?" I ask nervously.

What the fuck?

Did I just ask him how he likes his _coffee?_

He laughs and I smile awkwardly. Shuffling and fidgeting a lot; it's a habit I have, whenever I'm nervous.

"Did you seriously, just ask me how I like my coffee?" He says, chuckling. I'm such a fucking idiot.

"Yeah, I guess I did" I say quietly, embarrassed about the stupid question.

"Well I like it without any sugar and only a little milk" he says casually, a smile spreading across his face and a little chuckle escaping his lips. The conversation slips into an awkward, tense silence. I sit there fidgeting and Peeta is rummaging through his bag for something.

"Would you guys just fucking kiss already" Finnick says, his head popping out from above his chair in front of me. I know I'm blushing and I can see that Peeta is as well. I'm going to kill Finnick one day. I cough awkwardly and then look up to Peeta.

"Um where did Gale go?" I ask, looking around the bus, trying to change the subject to anything from this awkward silence.

"He's um..." Peeta starts looking down the aisle of the bus. "He's sitting with Madge Undersee. That quiet gi-"

"I know who Madge is" I say cutting him off. I look past Peeta and see Annie asleep again. Shit, the 2 people that I can have a casual conversation with are asleep or down the other fucking side of the bus; what is Gale doing sitting with Madge Undersee anyway? I sigh.

"So Finnick, who are you… um _with_ at the moment" I ask, hoping for him to be single for Annie.

"Of course you would want to know, Katniss" he says, grinning. I roll my eyes and he continues. "Well actually… I'm single at the moment" he says proudly.

Wow, the first time Finnick has been single since he was 5!

Me and Finnick resume casual conversation and Peeta sits there fidgeting awkwardly, like he wants to join in the conversation but can't. We continue to catch until the bus slows to a stop and the speakers through the bus begin to crackle.

"Hello everyone, we have finally arrived at your camp site, please don't forget any bags when leaving because you will be taking a different coach on the way back. The teachers have asked me to tell you to assemble on the grass area in front of the tents straight away. Hope you guys have a great trip" He speakers cut off and the bus lets out a loud cheer, both Peeta and Finnick joining in. One by one the kids file off the bus, chattering and giggling as they go. We have to wait the longest because we are at the back of the bus but we make it out after a few moments.


	9. Fat Ass

**Okay chapter 9 is here! They are finally at the actual camp woo! I have decided to make Peeta a bit more guyish? Like he swears a lot more and he jokes around with the guys and stuff so yeah! Please review :)**

**CH9 – Fat Ass**

Annie POV

I step off the bus and can feel the heat of the sun hit my skin. God it is hot up North! I clutch my suitcase handle even harder and begin to walk on the soft green grass towards the tall wooden gate that everyone else is going through. It leads into a large grass oval that is lined by a wooden fence. Along the fence are large tents that sleep 4 people each. Everyone is standing in the middle of the grass oval and I head over, slipping into a spot between Katniss and Gale. The quiet chatter of people fills the air while I stand there silently. The air is so fresh up here; it's all so open and free. The chatter begins to quieten as a lady walks towards the large group of kids.

"Hello everyone, I am Paylor… the owner of this camp. Usually we have younger aged kids coming on this camp so we decided to… _modify_ the rules for your trip" she says happily, smirking at the end. "We will have daily activities set up such as kayaking, archery, mountain biking but you don't have to attend if you don't want to. You are allowed to be anywhere you want during the day, the beach, the set up activities, the shops… you have all round access. We serve up 3 meals a day, breakfast, lunch and dinner but it you would prefer to buy food from the shops you are more than welcome. Camp curfew is 10pm, tent curfew is 11pm and lights out is 12pm… this means you have to be at the camp grounds by 10, in your tent by 11 and lights are out at 12. There will be punishments to people who are out past curfew. Th But besides that the only rule is to have fun!" she finishes the large group begins to cheer and shout, Katniss, me and Gale joining in. "wait, wait, wait!" Paylor says, trying to calm the loud crowd of people. "There is one more rule! No boys in the girl's tents and no girls in the boy's tent!" Everyone lets out a sigh and some of the guys begin to boo. "We don't want anyone getting pregnant on our camp thankyou very much, the tents have signs hanging on them to indicate who is in which tent, every day we will place a sign on the notice board to indicate what the daily activity is and where it is held" She adds. She walks back to the group of adults sitting at a table and the group begins to cheer loudly again.

"Let go find our tent losers, then we will figure out what to do first?" Katniss asks excitedly. She picks up her duffel bag from the grass and begins to head to the first tent, stopping at the sign in front of it. I grab my suitcase handle and follow her. We check multiple tents until we find ours. It is a dark, cargo green and inside there are 4 sling beds. Katniss dumps her bag onto the one in the back right corner and I put my suitcase on the bed next to hers.

"So… you know Finnick is single?" Katniss asks and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"No, I didn't, Katniss" I say casually. "so what are we planning to do? We can't go to the beach because it is 6:05pm, there are no daily activities today, and dinner isn't till 8pm" I explain. She sighs and then a large smile spreads across her face.

"We can catch up with the guys" she says winking at me.

"Hmm… guys, what guys?" A girl says from the door of the tent, our heads flick in to her direction and at the door is a short, petite girl with black hair cut at shoulders length. Her face is angular and she had a mysterious smirk on her face. She looks between Katniss and me for a few moments before she speaks up.

"I'm Johanna Mason" She says reaching her hand out to me, I shake it firmly and then Katniss does the same.

"I'm Katniss Everdeen and this is Annie Crest" Katniss says nodding her head in my direction.

"I know who you are, brainless! The whole school does" she says, turning her back to us and picking up 2 duffle bags. She carries the bags to the bed next to mine and dumps them down on them.

"So who were these guys you were talking about… are any of them hot?" she asks as she begins to arrange her stuff.

"Peeta Mellark, Finnick Odair and Gale Hawthorne" Katniss answers, anger laced in her voice.

"Since when do you guys hang out with Peeta and Finnick" she asks, raising her eyebrows and smiling wickedly. Both Katniss and I ignore her question and go about arranging our stuff. "Well may I join you guys then?" Johanna asks happily. I look to Katniss and shrug.

"Sure" I say, pulling out a pair of ripped short shorts and a fitted white tank top to get changed into. Katniss gets changed into a pair of ripped short shorts and a black half top that shows off her flat stomach and big boobs. I really wish I looked like her; she has such a good body. Johanna wears a fitted black singlet with grey ripped short shorts that are cut so high that her ass hangs out the back. I pick up my phone from my bag and walk out the tent behind Katniss.

We walk over to a small patio to the right of the tents that has couches positioned under it. We all sit down on the couches and awkward silence envelopes us.

"So do you guys know what we can actually do here?" I ask, trying to get a conversation started.

"My sister went to this camp a few years ago… but she was only in year 8 so they had set activities for every day but she gave me the basic idea of what is around here. There is a large movie room around that corner" Johanna says pointing to a small pathway around the side of a building. "The beach is over that way" she says pointing to a gate that is positioned between 2 tents. "There is a pool in that building there" She says as she points to the building behind us. "they are archery, basketball, tennis, rock climbing in that direction" she says pointing to the right of us "and they have mountain biking and hiking on that mountain over there" she says pointing to a large mountain in the distance "and last but not least they have the dining hall, a small deli thing, bakery, shops, games centre and chill room over that way" she finishes pointing to the left of us.

Wow.

This place must be huge!

"Well, I reckon we should have a movie sesh before everyone finds it and it becomes too crowded" Katniss says, playing with her fingernails.

"I like movies!" Finnick says from behind us, I jump and turn around, pulling my feet up onto the couch. I smile shyly and Katniss begins to laugh. I glare at her, sending daggers into her heart with my eyes. Peeta, Finnick and Gale are standing behind us and are looking around the camp site.

"This place is pretty big" Gale says, scanning the surrounding area.

"Yeah they have a movie room over that way" Johanna pitches in pointing to the small path again. "Us girls are going to go watch some movies before everyone finds out about it, if you guys want to join" Johanna says, her eyes scanning up and down Gale.

"And who might you be" Gale asks coldly. Staring at her, his grey eyes not leaving hers.

"I'm Johanna Mason, so nice to meet you" She says, sarcasm present in every word. Gale rolls his eyes and sits down in between me and Katniss.

"Hey Johanna, I see your hair hasn't grown back yet" Finnick says smirking.

"Shut up, Finnick! Hey Peeta" she says, punching Finnick's arm. Finnick and Johanna know each other? I know it shouldn't but this annoys me. My gaze falls to my feet, which are huddled under me on the couch.

"Hey Johanna" Peeta says casually and sits down next to Katniss. I quickly jump to my feet.

"Well I think we should go buy some food before we have our movie sesh, there is a small deli thing over this way apparently" I say as I begin to walk in the direction of the deli that Johanna had told us about earlier. Everyone gets up and joins me as I walk across the large grass oval. We pick up usual conversation; talking about what we are most excited about on this trip and how good it looks so far.

"I really can't wait to see some chicks at the beach" Finnick says happily. All the girls roll their eyes and I hear Katniss mumble something about 'fucking perverted teenage boy'. Personally I cant wait to get to the beach just to see Finnick without a shirt again. I giggle at the thought and Katniss begins to stare at me.

"What?" I ask her and giggle again.

"What are you so giggly about?" she asks. "wait actually… never mind… I don't want to know" she adds and I can feel the heat rise up my neck and too my cheeks and I know that I'm blushing.

**Time lapse**

We round the pathway that leads to the movie room, all holding our snacks in our arms. My chips begin to fall out of my arms and I try to steady them but it's too late and they fall from my arms, Finnick quickly catching them, mid-air and handing them back to me. I blush stupidly. The littlest things Finnick does can drive me crazy!

Around the corner of the pathway is a large wall with a double door located in the middle. Katniss walks ahead and pulls open the double doors and walks into the darkness, we all follow into the pitch black. Katniss scrambles around for a few moments looking for the light switch, she flicks the lights on and we can see the room that we are standing in.

It's not like a real cinema, there are 4 rows with 5 reclining seats in each, positioned in between the seats are arm rests with drink holders. At the front of the room are a few bean bags and in the corner is a big basket full of fluffy blankets and another one full of pillows. There is a massive screen on the wall at the front and at the back is a table with a laptop sitting on it. There is a single door at the back left. Katniss walks up to it, pulls it open and curses.

"Are you fucking serious! We didn't even need to buy food! They have a whole fucking candy store in here" she says, walking through the single door. I follow her and she is right they have everything from popcorn to ice-creams.

"Well at least we are stocked then" Johanna snickers. The boys come rushing in and grab a bunch more food, shoving them into their arms.

"OH SWEET!" Gale shouts a stupid grin across his face.

"Don't eat too much of that shit, Gale" Katniss says, smirking. "You will become over weight and then no one will want to make out with your fat ass!" she continues, everyone begins to laugh.

"What are you talking about, Catnip? You know you will always want me!" Gale comes back. Everyone begins to 'ohhhh' and Katniss laughs sarcastically.

"Oh, Gale! You know that my ass is so out of your league!" Katniss says proudly and everyone 'ohhh's' again. Gale picks up a packet of 'm&m's' and throws them at Katniss, she catches them easily and a wicked grin appears on her face.

"Aww! Thankyou Gale!" she says, happily. She walks back out into the movie room and the whole group cracks up laughing, besides Gale.

"Man… you just got fucking taken!" Peeta says, laughing with the rest of us.

"Shut up man" Gale says punching his shoulder and walking out into the movie room, we all follow. Katniss is kneeling at the table at the back scrolling through a list on the computer.

"What are you doing, brainless?" Johanna teases, kneeling down beside her and looking at the list on the computer.

"Looking at what movies we should watch" she replies, staring at the computer screen intensely.

"I reckon we should watch magic mike!" Johanna shouts, excited. I squeal at her Idea and Katniss laughs.

"Hell no! I'm not watching guys stripping. I reckon death race or something like that!" Finnick shouts. I sit down in a seat in the second row and get comfy. I really don't care what we watch, movies aren't usually my thing unless they are romance, but I doubt that is going to happen. The others continue to bicker over which movie we are going to watch. I pull out my phone and play subway surfers while they decide what we are watching, after a few moments I notice that someone has come and sat down next to me, I look up and see Finnick.

"Oh, hey" I say, looking back down at my game. I have just past my high score so I don't want to die right now.

"What are you playing?" He asks leaning over my shoulder, trying to see what game im on.

"Subway surfers" I giggle, still staring at my game.

"I love that game!" Finnick exclaims and I giggle again. We sit there in silence as Finnick watched me play my game. The heat radiating from his body, sending shivers down my spine. Oh god, this is going to be a good trip.


	10. Back Seat

**Wooh.. chapter 10 :) im writing chapter 13 right now and im having a lot of fun with it :') hope you guys like this chapter :)**

**CH10 – Back Seat**

Peeta POV

We were all kneeling down around the computer, besides Finnick and Annie who were already sitting in their seats. I was right next to Katniss. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a black half top that showed off her boobs and revealed her stomach. I have to say… it was hard to keep my eyes on the computer screen! We were fighting between which movies to watch. Me and gale were saying hot tub time machine but Johanna and Katniss wanted to watch dear john. I swear that movie is hell on earth for guys. After a while I give up on arguing and let Gale sort it out with Katniss and Johanna. I was just kneeling there silently, watching Katniss who was facing Johanna on the other side of her and Gale who was kneeling behind them. Every now and again my gaze would drop slightly and I would get a glimpse of her boobs. This is fucking torture!

After 10 minutes of arguing, they finally decided on '21 Jump Street' because it has Channing Tatum in it; for the girls and it was funny; for the boys. We all got up from the computer after Katniss pressed play to go get our seats. Gale and Johanna slid into the second row beside Finnick and Annie, who were sitting really close together. I mentally laughed at the fact that Finnick was making a move on Annie. There was only one seat left in the second row which means that either me or Katniss is going to have to sit by ourselves.

"You can have that seat, ill sit behind you guys" Katniss says, already sliding into the third row.

"You aren't going to sit by yourself! Here I'll sit with you" I say and slide down into the seat beside her, smiling. Even though we had dimmed the lights, so the room was dark, I could still see her blush. Everyone in the row in front of us was staring at us.

"What? I wasn't going to let her sit alone!" I say to them, slightly irritated. The movie starts playing and the music booms through the surround-sound speakers. I love this movie, it's so funny. I open up a packet of chips that I had and start to eat them. Katniss' phone rings and everyone turns around and glares at her. She slips it out of the pocket of her shorts.

"sorry guys, its my sister" she whispers, while lowering the volume of her phone. She texts on her phone for 20 minutes and then shuts it off and she glances at me and smiles. It pull out my phone and check the time, it's 7:30pm. I jump out of my seat and walk down to the front and grab a blanket and 2 pillows out of the baskets and walk back up to my seat next to Katniss.

"here" I whisper, handing her one of the pillows. 'thankyou' she mouths and I wink sitting back down in my seat and laying the blanket over me. I take a sip of my coke and put it back onto the armrest.

"how old is your sister?" I ask Katniss, getting bored of the movie now.

"she's 11, her names Primrose but we just call her Prim" she says, turning to look at me. The scene where Channing Tatum gets into a fight at a party comes on and Johanna and Annie begin screaming, Katniss joins in and I laugh.

"If I got into a fight like that would you scream for me?" I joke, making them laugh. "Does your sister go to Panem primary?" I ask Katniss quietly. She nods. We all know about Katniss' family, the whole school does. Her dad died and then her mum went into depression and now she is caring for Prim all by herself. I shift my weight in my seat and pull up the armrest in between Katniss and me, creating more room. Katniss shifts towards me slightly.

"so what about you, what school does you dick of a brother go to?" She asks casually. I laugh and look down to my lap.

"yeah, well he goes to Panem high with us, he is just the year below us" I explain. "I also have an older brother called Graham, he's going to college now" I say.

"mmm hmm" Katniss says and it sounds like she is tired.

"are you cold?" I ask. Please say yes. Please say yes. Please say yes.

"Yeah a little" She whispers back. YES!

"Here, come here" I say moving a little closer to her. She moves into my side and rests her head on my shoulder and I wrap the blanket around her. "Better?" I ask. She nods and smiles.

"so… how do you like your coffee" I say, mimicking her voice. She laughs and then punches my arm softly.

"shutup" she says, looking up to me from the screen. Our eyes lock and she smiles. Slowly we begin to lean into each other. I'm actually going to kiss Katniss! Holy shit. I raise my hand to cup her face but before I can she pulls away, quickly jumping up.

"um… im going to go, guys. I'll see you later" she says grabbing her food and sliding out of the row of chairs.

"don't go, brainless! The good part is about to come one!" Johanna shouts, Katniss freezes and turns around on her heels, looking at the group. Her eyes flicker to me and then back to everyone else.

"I… um… it's 7:50, dinner is about to be served and im hungry… so ill talk to you guys later" she says, putting on a fake smile then turning around and walking out the double doors. I sigh. I just fucked things up.

"What was that all about?" Gale says, one eyebrow raised. I shrug and begin to eat my popcorn and staring at the screen tensely. I seriously just fucked everything up but she was going to kiss me as well so why did she just leave? My phone rings and I slip it out of my pocket. It's a text from my brother

**Rye:** how is ur trip going?

I begin to type on my phone, my eyes flicking up to the screen every now and then.

**Me:** shit, now go away.

**Rye: **oh, whats wrong big bro?

I know that he is being sarcastic so I just shut off my phone and slip it into my back pocket. I really want to get out of here; this movie is beginning to piss me off. I stand up quietly, my legs aching from sitting so long and slip out the double doors. Where the hell am I meant to go now? I wander around the camp site, meaninglessly. Passing groups of people, talking and laughing. I end up sitting on a day bed, with heaps of pillows and a blanket. It looks out over the beach, the waves crashing softly and the moon shinning down onto the water, making ever-changing patterns.

The movie would of finished by now and everyone would be wondering where the hell I went. I don't care, I don't feel like talking at the moment.

Camp curfew is 10pm and right now it is 9:45pm so I'm going to have to head back soon. I pull out my phone and text Finnick.

**Me:** where are you?

I place my phone down on the day bed next to me and rub my face with my hands. It's a few moments before Finnick replies.

**Finnick: **Johanna, Gale, Annie and me r sitting on that couch that we were at earlier. Where the fuck did u disappear 2? And what happed with Katniss?

Explanations. I really don't want to explain to him. I begin to text, thinking of a lie to tell him.

**Me: **the movie got boring. I'm at the beach playing on my phone. I don't know why Katniss left. I'll meet u guys at the couches.

It isn't the best lie I have come up with… but I really couldn't think at the moment. I stand up, sliding the phone back into my pockets and begin to walk back to the camp grounds.

"hey guys" I say as I walk up to the group from behind. They turn around and smile, Katniss still isn't here.

"where did you go, bread boy?" Johanna asks

"bread boy?" I ask, questioningly

"you work at the bakery…" she says trailing off. Well I guess I have a new nickname. "so where did you go?" she pushes

"to the beach" I reply, sitting down next to Finnick. We sit in an awkward silence for a while until Gale speaks up.

"so we were thinking about hitting the beach tomorrow, seeing some girls" he says smirking at Finnick. "Johanna said she will tell Katniss" He says. The awkward silence creeps in again. We sit there, staring at each other, willing for someone to speak up. Finnick's phone rings and he pulls it out and swipes it open.

"its Katniss" he says, his eyes paired on the screen of the phone. He reads the message and then starts typing on it, sending a text back I assume. Once he is finished he throws the phone at me and I catch it with ease and read the text.


	11. Crying Myself To Sleep

**I don't like the part before the time lapse in this chapter but anyway… chapter 11 is here… PLEASE leave a review!**

**CH11 – Crying Myself To Sleep**

Katniss POV

It was 10:30pm and I'm hiding behind one of the tents in the camp grounds. I went to the forest after I left the movie room, I didn't go in far because I had never been here, I just roamed the edge of it but once it got to 10pm we had to be on camp grounds so I had to go back. I'm sitting on my ass, in dirt, behind a tent, while everyone else is having fun. Fuck this. I pull out my phone and go to text Peeta but I realise I don't have his number so I text message from Finnick instead and press the reply button… how did Finnick get my number anyway? I begin to type into my phone

**Me: **Finnick… can u give the phone 2 Peeta, I need 2 talk 2 him

Is all I send, I then place my phone in the dirt beside me and wait for him to reply. After a few moments the phone rings and I pick it up, swipe it open and look at the text.

**Finnick: **want 2 talk 2 Peeta ey? What you 2 love birds want to talk about ;)

I roll my eyes and type into the phone.

**Me: **just hand him the fucking phone.

My phone goes off in seconds this time and I look at it.

**Finnick: **hey, it's Peeta.

I sigh. Why the hell did I ask for Peeta? What am I going to tell him.

**Me: **can u meet me?

I hesitate for a few moments and then click send, he replies in seconds again.

**Finnick:** yeah, sure. Where?

He's going to think I'm a pussy if he finds out I was hiding. I stand up and walk around the back of the tents until I get to mine. I zip open the back door and slip inside. I then start to text Peeta again.

**Me: **my tent, make up some excuse for everyone else and delete the texts after

I close off my phone and chuck it into my bag and lay down onto my bed. Now I just have to wait for him to get here. I fiddle with my half top nervously. Why am I nervous? I don't even know what im going to say? I sigh loudly and rub my hands over my face. I continue to fiddle with the straps of my half top.

He probably thinks I'm a slut.

Why did I try and kiss him.

I'm so stupid.

I fucked everything up.

Why do I even care what he thinks? I don't like him

Do I?

He probably hates me.

"Hey" someone says from behind me and I jump, its Peeta. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you" He whispers. I half-heartedly smile and he sits on Annie's bed, which is the one next to mine.

"Hi" I say, fiddling with my fingernails and biting my bottom lip. An awkward silence takes over and we sit there awkwardly. What am I doing? I'm not afraid of a situation like this? Why am I acting so afraid? I clear my throat

"Look… about the movie thing, I don't want to kiss you… well it's not that I_ don't_ want to kiss you…. It's just I don't want a relationship right now… like a relationship… I'm fine just being friends… well I mean just for now… fuck… I seriously stuffed this up." I gush, not thinking about what I'm saying. He sighs and I look up at him, he is scratching the back of his neck.

"Don't worry… I know what you mean, you just came out of a relationship, you don't want another one right now, but I mean… a kiss doesn't mean anything. Well you know, it's not like I was asking you out… that doesn't mean I don't want to… it's just I wasn't" he says, shifting his weight as he talks. "I'm just going to go" he says pointing to the door. He stands up and I sigh.

"Don't go" I blurt out before thinking. He turns around looking at me questioningly. "I mean, a kiss doesn't mean anything… so this doesn't need to make things between us awkward. We didn't even kiss anyway" I say, trying to explain to myself why I told him not to go. He sighs again and looks down.

"I think… _this._ Is making things more awkward" he says, walking out the tent, leaving me here by myself. FUCK. I can't do anything right. I rest my head in my hands and quietly sob until I fall asleep.

**Time lapse**

"Get up, slut! We are going to the beach! Get ready!" Johanna shouts into my ear. I grown and I roll onto my side, falling out of the sling bed and landing hard on the floor. I moan loudly and push myself up with my wobbly arms. Johanna is laughing loudly and Annie is digging through her bag. There is also another girl in our tent, she is facing the other way so I can't tell who she is. Johanna pushes a mug into my hands; I look down at it and see that it is coffee.

"We are leaving in 5… Gale, Finnick and Peeta are coming as well" she says before walking over to her bag and digging through it. I sip the coffee and then rub my face with my hands, trying to wake myself up.

"What time is it?" I mumble, beginning to look through my bag for my bathers.

"10:30am" Annie says softly. I grumble, pissed that they woke me up so early. My phone rings as I am rummaging through my bag, I pick it up and see a text from Prim. I was texting her last night and she told me she liked Rory; Gales younger brother and I told her about Peeta and how nice and funny he was, but that was before we had our… _moment._ So pretty much Prim doesn't know that me and Peeta aren't on the best terms. I open the text message and read it.

**Prim: **hey Kat! Have fun today… I'm going 2 the movies with some friends and Rory is going 2 b there! How r u and Peeta? Miss u xx

I stare at the text for a while, laughing at the part about her going to the movies and cringing at the question. Should I tell her? Of course! She is my sister, I tell her everything. I begin to text.

**Me:** aww! Have fun little duck! I don't think Peeta likes me but I'm going 2 the beach with him, Annie and some other friends. Ill txt u later xx

I shut my phone and grab my backpack; in it I put my phone and wallet, along with a towel and sunnies. I brought a few pairs of bathers and decide to choose the most _revealing _pair. They are a dark red colour. The top is the triangular type and they expose a lot of my boob and the bottoms show off most of my ass and have ties on the sides. I grab my bathers, along with a pair of denim short shorts that show my ass and a white singlet, half top and walk to the change rooms that are just to the right of out tent. I get changed into my clothes and look at myself in the full-length mirror and smirk. I'm so happy I have large boobs at the moment. I walk back into the tent and find Johanna and Annie ready. Johanna wearing a pair of denim short-shorts and a bathers top and Annie in a light blue sun dress.

"Good to go, brainless?" Johanna asks. I walk over to my bed, pick up my back packand smirk.

"Mm hmm" I say, walking out of the tent.

"Oh, I thought you needed to put some clothes on" Johanna says and I can hear the smile in her voice.

"Shut up" I say punching her arm. "It's not like you're any better" I continue winking at her. "So are we meeting them at the beach or?" I finish, turning around to face them and walking backwards.

"Yep!" Annie says, her hair swaying around her neck as she walks. We continue the rest of our short walk to the beach in silence. Once we are down there we spot the boys sitting in the sand with 3 surf boards. We head over to them and sit down next to them.

"Hey guys" Johanna says happily. I laugh when I see Gale gazing at her, she isn't wearing a shirt, only her bather top and I know Johanna has picked up on it when she smirks. "Finished checking me out, Gale?" She purrs and Gale snaps out of his state and blushes.

Wow. Gale blushing. That's a first.

"Well we are going for a swim… If you girls want to take off your clothes and join us, I'm sure we will be happy" He says, his signature grin covering his face. He stands up followed by Gale and Peeta and start heading towards the beach.

"I'm ready for some fun" I shout causing the guys to turn around and look back at us. I pull down my shorts and rip off my half-top to reveal my bathers and smirk as their mouths gape open.


	12. Let's Go For A Swim

**Thankyou everyone for your support! Im writing chapter 14/15/16 (its really long so im breaking it into 3 chapters) and thankyou everyone who is giving me reviews… it really helps! Happy reading :)**

**CH12 – Let's Go For A Swim**

Peeta POV

"Fucking get off your lazy ass'!" I shout at Gale and Finnick. We are going to the beach with the girls today and we are meant to be meeting them there at 10:40am and it is 10:35am and they aren't up yet.

I unzip the tent door and step out into the blazing sun. It's fucking hot here. I walk over to a small tap that is on the side of a pillar; next to it are 3 buckets. I smirk; I pick up 2 and fill them with the water from the tap then heave them back to the tent. I slip through the tent door that I left open and put one of the buckets down, grabbing the other with 2 hands and walking to Finnick's bed.

"Rise and shine, sleepy head" I say before tipping the bucket of water all over him. He rolls out of bed and lands directly on his face on the tent floor.

"FUCK!" he shouts loudly, rubbing his face with his hands. "why am I soaking wet?" He says looking down at his drenched clothes.

"Because you didn't get up, now help me with Gale" I say, laughing as he glares at me. I walk over to the second bucket and pick it up, heaving it over to Gale's bed. I drizzle a little bit onto his forehead, Gale stirs and then mumbles something about 'sleep is precious' which causes me and Finnick to crack up laughing. I then dump the rest of the water on his head and he jumps up quickly, tripping over a bag that is beside his bed and landing face-first onto the floor.

"You are fucking going to pay, Blondie" He mumbles into the floor, slowly lifting himself up from the floor.

"Well it is 10:39 and we are meeting the girls at the beach at 10:40… so I think we should get going" I say. They both quickly get changed into a pair of boardies and singlets and chuck towels over their shoulders and I do the same. We walk out the tent and see groups of people standing around their tents, not completely awake yet, chatting.

"They have surfboards in the shed around there" I say pointing towards a small tin roof, peaking over the top of the fence. We head over there and scan the boards for ones that suit us. I end up with one that is just a little taller than me, really light and has Blue flames at the bottom. We tuck them under our arms and head for the beach, talking about the wind conditions and what we expect the waves to be like.

Once we get down there we are in awe. The waves are massive! I check my phone and see that we are 10 minutes late, not that it matters, the girls aren't here yet. We place our stuff in the sand and sit with it. Making small talk. Gale wolf whistles at a girl our age that walks past in a bikini. She flicks him off and you can see shock written all over his face.

"Yeah, she wants me" He says, trying to disguise his rejection. Finnick punches his arm and begins to laugh.

"She _totally _wants you" He says and Gale glares at him. "Here look at this" He whispers. He wolf whistles and a different girl that walks past in a bikini, she looks a bit older than us, she turns around and smiles at him but continues walking down the beach.

"You guys are shit! Look at this" I say. I see another girl in a bikini, the same age as us and I wolf whistle at her. She stops and looks at me and then brings her hand to her ear, making a phone shape and mouths 'call me'. The guys begin to punch my shoulder and punch me shouting 'yeah' and 'you're in'. I push them off and laugh. Seconds later we hear people behind us and turn around; it is Johanna, Annie and Katniss.

"Hey guys" Johanna says casually, sitting down beside Gale. Annie sits next to her which leaves Katniss sitting in between Annie and me. I stare at my feet as she sits down. Katniss looks at Gale, who is eyeing down Johanna; she hasn't got a shirt on. I stifle a laugh and Johanna notices Gale looking at her.

"Finished checking me out, Gale?" She says and Gales eyes snap up to hers, his cheeks go bright red and it takes everything within me not to burst out laughing. It becomes silent and slightly awkward.

"Well we are going for a swim… If you girls want to take off your clothes and join us, I'm sure we will be happy" he says, grinning. I hear Gale mumble something about 'Johanna better be joining us' but I don't think anyone else picked up on it. Gale stands up, followed by me and we start making our way towards the water.

"I'm ready for some fun" I hear Katniss say and turn around to face her; Gale and Finnick do the same. She takes off her shorts revealing her long, tanned legs and I know my mouth is wide open. Fuck! Just close your mouth Peeta! I tell myself but it doesn't work. Katniss then slowly pulls off her top and now I can see her flat, perfect stomach and holy shit. She is wearing a small red bikini that shows off her boobs and I can't help but stare. She begins to run towards us, she passes us casually and dives into the water; showing us her perfectly shaped ass. Don't get hard Peeta. Is all I repeat in my head.

"Are you guys coming in?" She shouts back to us once she resurfaces. I nod and run into the water, Gale and Finnick beside me. I dive in and resurface next to Gale. Johanna and Annie strip down to their bathers and run into the water as well.

"Hey, Katniss… are you just trying to make the guys hard?" Johanna asks, laughing loudly.

"Shut up" Katniss says, splashing Johanna with the water. "It's not my fault my goods are better than yours" she continues, smirking at Johanna.

"You did not" Johanna says, glaring evilly at Katniss. She jumps on top of Katniss and pushes her under water. Katniss resurfaces and laughs hysterically.

"Love you too, Jo bear" Katniss says sarcastically. Johanna splashes Katniss and joins in laughing. We continue swimming and talking.

"Katniss! Remember that time we went to the beach and the waves were huge and we kept getting dumped and then you-" Annie says

"SHUT UP!" Katniss shouts, cutting her off and giving her a death glare.

"And then she what?" Gale asks. Katniss glares at him and he winks back to her. She rolls her eyes and floats on her back in the water.

"And then she got dumped by this huge wave and lost her bikini top!" Annie squeals and Katniss blushes a bright red.

"I would have loved to have been there" Gale pitches in slyly.

"So would I" Finnick adds in, grinning; like always. All the girls roll their eyes and I chuckle.

"Yeah well you weren't, so get over it, you perverted teenage boys" Katniss snaps, glaring at everyone including me.

"Hey, I didn't say anything!" I say, putting my hands up, in surrender. She smirks.

"But you were thinking it weren't you" Johanna pitches in, rolling her eyes again. I smirk and shrug my shoulders. Katniss' eyes connect with mine and I lose my smile and glare back down at the floor, she looks down to the water and then dives under. I can't see her in the dark blue water. I turn back to the group and join in their conversation about not being able to go to the beach because of perverted boys like gale and Finnick. I laugh at the topic and Gale and Finnick eye me down I just shrug. 2 seconds later I am pulled down under water, what the hell just happened? I open my eyes and turn around my eyes connecting with Katniss'. She smiles and a bunch of bubbles float to the surface out of her mouth. I swim to the top; my lungs needing air. I resurface and look around until Katniss' head pops above water as well.

"What the fuck was that?! That scared the shit out of me" I shout.

"Just having some fun" she says, smirking. I second she is telling me not to fucking try and kiss her and the next she is flirting with me? She is fucking complicated. She splashes me and I glare at her, playfully.

"Oh, you started this" I say, splashing her back, she begins to laugh and I join in. Her hair is out and floating around her in the water, her grey eyes glistening as the sun light hits them, she is laughing revealing her bright white teeth. She is so beautiful. She lunges forwards, jumping on my back and pushes me underwater, I pull her forward over the top of my head and she splashes into the water. I resurface at the same time as her and we both smile.

"If you two have finished over there, Finnick and I are going for a surf, you want to join Peeta?" Gale asks, uneasy. I turn around and face him; he has a half-hearted smile on his face and is fiddling with his hands.

"Um… yeah, sure. See ya Katniss, we will be back soon" I say, splashing her one last time and then running out of the water with Finnick, pushing him slightly as we go.

"Bye, Annie, bye, Johanna" I say as I walk past them, they both roll their eyes at me and I just smile.

I grab my board out of the sand and begin to follow Finnick and Gale down the beach as we head to where the waves are better.

"So… I saw you flirting with Annie, Finnick" Gale says, I smile and see Finnick blush.

"Yeah, so what?" He snaps. I laugh and he glares at me. "Well what about you and Katniss!" Finnick shouts at me and my gaze drops to my feet.

"Yeah, that will never happen" I say quietly, remembering what happened last night; she doesn't want to be with me. I grip my board harder. Finnick snorts.

"She so has a thing for you!" He all but shouts, I ignore him and continue walking through the soft sand. "Whatever" I mutter and run for the water. I dive onto my board, letting the cool water lap over my arms and begin to paddle out to the break.


	13. Race You To The Towels

**Big thankyou for the reviews! This chapter is Gale/Johanna with a little Gale/Katniss. **

**I'm writing chapter 17 and it is purely peeniss ;) hahaha yeah so it has a lot of Katniss/Peeta and it's quite a sad chapter but anyway… I'll be updating again tomorrow :)**

**Happy reading :)**

**CH13 – Race You To The Towels**

Gale POV

"Nice wave, Gale" Peeta says, punching my arm friendly as we ran through the cool, refreshing water towards the shore.

"Yeah, thanks" I mumble. I have a feeling that Peeta likes Katniss. The way he flirts with her and shit; it pisses me off. We walk along the shore and over to where the girls are laying on their towels, tanning, both Johanna and Katniss have the back of their bikini tops untied, showing the side of their boobs. I smirk at the sight. Johanna is in the middle with Annie on her left and Katniss on her right. Katniss whispers something to Johanna, who then passes it on to Annie who giggles and then nods, a smile spreading across her face.

"Hey guys" Katniss says casually, looking down at a magazine she is reading.

"Hey" Peeta, Finnick and I say in unison.

"Hey Finnick! Do you think you would be able to do my back?" Annie asks innocently, giggling and waving a bottle of sunscreen in the air. Finnick's face lights up and he walks around and kneels beside Annie in the sand. She smiles and giggles as Finnick takes the sunscreen bottle from her.

"Hey, Katniss you want to come for a swim?" I ask, her eyes peer up and look at me through her long lashes. She snorts and looks back down at her magazine, flicking to the next page, waving her legs in the air as she lies on her towel.

"I'm reading my magazine, Gale" she says, sarcastically laughing. 'Yeah, I can see that' I think to myself. "Why don't you take Johanna for a swim" she asks, looking back up to me carefully, scanning my face to see my reaction. I smirk just to annoy her.

"yeah, maybe I will, Katniss" I say, turning to Johanna who is laying on her back, her skinny legs propped in the air, glasses covering her green eyes; making her expression difficult to read. She is wearing a simple black bikini that looks really good on her.

"Johanna, wanna go for a swim?" I ask her. She slowly slides her sunnies to the top of her head and twirls her finger in her hair seductively. She slowly parts her lips. I swear she is just tempting me, her lips are a bright red and look so soft-

"Sure, just promise you will stop checking me out?" She says, laughing quietly.

"Promise" I say, giving her a small smile. I really hope this is making Katniss jealous. She jumps up, off her towel and brushes the sand off her thighs. She turns on her heels and quickly runs to the water, flicking the soft, white sand with her heels. I run after her, the sand crunching in between my toes when I catch up to her I begin to slow to her pace and I lean over to her and whisper in her ear

"did you know… promises are made to be broken" her eyes squint together and she glares at me, then laughs and pushes me over into the water but before I splash down into the water I grab her wrist and pull her into the cool, flowing water as well. Johanna resurfaces taking deep breaths and thrashing her arms at me. She stops and then laughs hysterically. I pick her up bridal style and swing her through the small waves. She squirms in my arms and thrashes at my chest with her fists, but it feels more like she is trying to tickle me. Johanna can't stop laughing and I think it is contagious because I start as well.

"Put me down, fat ass!" she screams, playfully.

"Okay" I say and shrug. I drop her into the water. "You didn't say where" I say and she lunges at my chest; pushing me into the water.

**Time lapse**

"Race you to the towels?" Johanna asks me, grinning uncontrollably; it looks like she just saw a candy store with a sign saying 'free' or something.

"Sure" I shout as I run through the crashing water past her.

"Hey! That's unfair!" she screams back from just behind me. I can hear her feet smashing into the water creating a rhythmic sound. We hit the sand and the running becomes easier, I sprint as fast as I can to the towels, Johanna now beside me. Shit. She is fast! I make my legs move as fast as they can… I am not losing to a girl! We are about 10 meters from the towels

One second I'm running on the sand and the next I'm face planting into it. Johanna had stuck out her leg and tripped me over, causing me to flip forward and fall face first into the sand. I can hear her laughing becoming distant.

"I WON!" she yells, loudly. I look up from the sand and see her jumping up and down, cheering as the others laugh at me. I pull my arm out of the awkward position in front of my head and flick them off. I slowly sand up and I swear, I have sand on every inch of my body and I have a feeling I ate some as well. She is going to pay.

I run up from behind her as she jumps up and down and wrap my arms around her waist and chuck her over my shoulder. She squirms and laughs and pounds her fists on my back.

"I'm not letting you go until you apologise" I say, casually.

"Apologise for winning? No way!" she shouts back at me and I chuckle a little.

"Apologise for cheating, Johanna" I say. She begins to laugh and thrash her arms even larder onto my back, it doesn't hurt though. Everyone else is still staring at us from their spots on their towels. Finnick is now sitting face to face with Annie on her towel; Katniss has finished ready her magazine and is sitting, cross-legged, on her towel with Peeta across from her, who is leaning back on his hands.

"I didn't cheat! There were no rules!" Johanna says, snapping my attention back to her from Peeta and Katniss. I start walking towards to water and Johanna's screaming becomes louder. Once I get to about waist height, she stops screaming; realising what I'm planning to do.

"Don't you dare drop me!" Johanna screams. I smug smirk weaves its way onto my lips and I slip my hands out from around her waist. She splashes into the water and begins to thrash around rapidly. I laugh as I see her struggle in the cool water. Johanna resurfaces, her eyes narrowed and her eyebrows threaded together.

"Oops" I say, innocently and begin walking towards to shore again. She splashes over to beside me and we walk up to the towels together, laughing and shoving each other.

Once we are at the towels we sit down and look around at everyone who is silent and looking at us suspiciously.

"What?" I say, looking around at all 4 of them. They all shrug and go back to their conversation.

"so we were planning to go back up to camp site and get some lunch and then find something to do" Katniss says, sliding her sunnies off the bridge of her nose and onto the top of her head, she leans back casually and rests on her arms, looking at me and Johanna.

"Yeah, that sounds cool! I'm starving!" Johanna says, springing to her feet and shaking the sand off her ass, which is right in front of my face. I smirk and stare at the well-shaped back-side of Johanna. She spins around and my eyes quickly flick up to meet hers. She puts one hand on her hip and glowers at me.

"Were you just staring at my ass?" she asks me firmly.


	14. Eaves-Dropping

**Just a little warning that I don't like this chapter so don't get annoyed at me if you think it is crap! It was the first day of school for me today and I my check-over wasn't as good as it should have been, anyway enjoy reading :)**

**CH14 – Eaves Dropping**

Katniss POV

"Gale! You pervert!" I shout at him jokingly. Peeta, Finnick and Annie begin to laugh as Johanna's eyes stay plastered on Gale, watching his every move.

"What can I say, Katniss… I can't keep my eyes off a good ass" Gale says which rewards him with a slap in the face from Johanna that sounded like it would sting for hours. I laugh so hard I can feel tears forming in my eyes. Johanna snatches up her towel and bag and stomps towards the pathway back to the camp grounds.

"Don't worry guys, she will be fine!" Finnick says, after he has calmed down enough from the laughing fit that ran through him. I jump up and dust off the sand from my stomach and legs with my hands and then pick up my magazine and slide it into my bag. As I'm packing away I notice everyone else is as well and by the time I'm done, so is everyone else. Annie has slipped her dress back on and the guys have put on their shirts, I'm still in just my bikini. I don't care; I'll probably end up at the beach again anyway.

As we walk back I start to think about Johanna and Gale; they would be such a good couple and then there is Finnick and Annie; I already know that Annie has a crush on Finnick and I'm pretty sure Finnick is pretty keen on Annie. I snicker at the thought of them getting together. As we walk through the pathway towards the camp grounds I begin to relax, the sand sliding between my toes, the sun beaming onto my back, the quiet chitter between my friends in the background. The wind whips through my hair and I can smell the beach in the salty air. It's soothing, it allows me to relax and my breathing steadies out into a quiet hum.

The sand under my feet begins to disappear and turns into a harder surface, I continue walking; in my own state of mind; oblivious to where I'm going. The loud laughter of people breaks me from my transit world and brings me back to reality. I'm standing on the grass field and the laughter came from a group of people talking to the right of me. I sigh and turn around; Annie, Finnick, Gale and Peeta are all behind me and they stop when I do.

"So lunch right? I'm going to go check if Johanna is in the tent and then we will meet you at the café at the beach near the deli we went to last night" I say, already exhausted from the real world called reality. I chose the café because it means I don't have to get changed out of my bikini. I turn on my heels and head towards our tent. The zipper is open so I know Johanna is inside.

"Jo! We are going to lunch at the café near the beach for lunch. Are you coming?" I shout into the tent, standing by the open door. She mumbles and groans from inside, so I take that as a 'you can come inside'. I walk in and see her cuddled up into a small ball on her bed, cocooned in her sleeping bag on, when she notices my presence in the tent she wriggles around to face me and I laugh at how stupid she looks.

"You look like a caterpillar" I say hitting her butt as I walk towards my bag. She chuckles a little, the sleeping bag muffling the sound. "Come on! We are going! Get off your lazy butt!" I say to her as I dig through my bag for something to put over the top of my bikini. She sluggishly crawls out of her sleeping bag and slides on a pair of cotton, black shorts and a simple red shirt that she tucks into her shorts.

"So you and gale hey? I reckon he likes you" I say with a smile, breaking the comfortable silence in between us.

"No way! He's a pervert! I don't care if he likes me! I'm staying as far away from him as possible!" She shouts at me and I laugh. "What about you and bread boy!" she says to me and my laughing stops.

"I'm not going out with Peeta!" I snap at her, she raises her hands in surrender, her eyes wide and a look of shock on her face.

"Whoa! Sorry" she says as she grabs her phone and wallet.

"He's too… I don't know… _clingy_. I mean he was there on the bus, the movies and I dunno… there is just something about him that annoys me" I admit and it's true; to a degree. Something does annoy me about Peeta, but it's because I feel butterflies in my stomach and shivers down my spine when he is near, not the fact that he is clingy.

I put on an orange sun dress and a pair of thongs. We leave the tent together and meet Annie and the guys standing right out the front of our tent. Annie has a look of worry on her face and Finnick is looking shocked. Were they eavesdropping?! The look on Peeta's face explains it. He is staring at the floor, his hands shoved into the pockets of his shorts, Gale has the same look. Shit! They were. I nudge Johanna who hasn't noticed yet because she was tying her short hair up into a high pony tail. She looks up to me with an eyebrow raised.

"What?" she ask, unaware of the situation. I nod my head towards Gale and Peeta. Johanna stares at them for a few seconds and then connects the dots.

"Shit" she mumbles under her breath "um... Hey guys" she says, an obviously fake smile on her face. They stay silent and I can feel the guilt begin to eat at my heart. I just announced to the whole group that I don't like Peeta because he's clingy and Johanna just told everyone she isn't going to go out with Gale because he is a pervert. Today is going so good. Yeah that was sarcasm. FUCK! How could I be such a bitch! My eyes continue to scan Peeta over and over again for any sign that he didn't actually hear it.

"So… we should go to the café now" Peeta mumbles, his eyes not rising from his feet. I begin to bite my lip to keep from screaming at him that I'm sorry.

"Yeah" I mumble, nodding. The group begins to head towards the pathway towards the café. I hang to the back and just think of what just happened. Johanna does the same.

"How the fuck did we just do that" she mumbles to me and I nod in agreement.

"Fuck this" I say a little too loudly. The rest of the group hears and turns to face me. I give them a weary smile to say that I'm alright and they all turn back and continue walking.

I don't even know my feelings towards Peeta to be honest. I don't know his feelings towards me either and we talked last night… I told him I didn't want a relationship right now so it doesn't matter that he just got told again… it front of everyone… in a very aggressive way. Shit. Fuck. Crap. Fuck. I'm such a fucking bitch.

I'm such a mess!

I don't even know what I'm thinking right now. My head is spinning and my legs are becoming wobbly and I can see a black dot in front of me and. Shit I'm fainting.


	15. What Should We Do

**I had a few people unfav my story :( but anyway this is chapter 15, im quite happy with it. Im also thinking of writing another story about Katniss being 'popular' at school but she is sort of a rebel in a way, I dont know if i should start now or once i finish this story, what do you guys think?**

**CH15 – What Should We Do**

Katniss POV

"It would have just been from stress" A faint voice says. "Nothing to worry about. She should be fine for the rest of the trip" the voice belongs to a woman. I can feel something soft underneath me and my hands grip onto it, it's a bed.

Where am I?

I open my right eye a little, enough to see but not enough for anyone to notice. I look around and take in my surroundings. I'm in a small room with a white roof and walls. There is a small bed side table beside me and 2 plastic chairs beside that. At the foot of the bed there is a lady standing with her back to me in a white coat and she is talking to Peeta and Johanna in a low tone. My eyes flutter completely open and Peeta notices.

"Are you alright?" he asks, pushing past Johanna and the lady and sitting on the side of my bed.

"Um… yeah" I answer. "Where am-" I wince in pain as I begin as I begin to sit up. I have a huge headache.

"You should take it slowly, you hit your head when you fell over" the lady in the white coat says walking to the other side of my bed.

"Where am I?" I say, once I'm finally positioned in an up-right position. Johanna is staring at me smugly from the foot of my bed.

"You fainted, Brainless" she says crossing her arms over her chest. "We took you to the nurse, she says it is from stress" She says. I groan which causes Johanna to laugh; Peeta is still sitting on the bed looking at me with those sapphire eyes that are filled with worry. I give him a weary smile and his gaze drops to his lap.

"Everyone else went to lunch, they wanted to come but we didn't want to many people here. They said we should meet them at the couches when you're alright" he murmurs, his gaze not moving from his lap; like he is scared to look at me. He probably thinks I'm going to blurt out some bitchy thing again. I nod.

"Are we at the hospital?" I ask, stunned that they had taken me all the way there. Peeta chuckled and looked up at me, the golden flecks in his eyes shining as the sun beams through a window to the left of me.

"No, I'm just the nurse from the camp site, you guys can leave whenever" the lady in the white coat says "I have to go check on someone else right now, so you can lead yourselves out" she says walking out of the single door on the wall in front of me.

"So… ready to go, brainless?" Johanna says excitedly. I smirk at her

"Who are you so eager to see?" I say, rubbing my head that still hurts. She rolls her eyes and walks to the side of my bed. Before I know it, she grabs my wrist and pulls my from the bed causing my head to pound and the sound of my heartbeat to appear in my ears. I wince again and she drops my wrist quickly, shock all over her face.

"Sorry… I forgot… brainless has head problems" She says quietly, looking at me apologetically. I chuckle a little as the pounding in my head stops and my heartbeat steadies out again.

"Okay… I'm good to go! But I have no idea where I am so I'm following you guys" I say, wanting to get out of here. I hate hospitals and nurse's offices, I spent half my childhood in them, first with my dad; watching him slowly disintegrate in front of my eyes from the effects of cancer and then with my mother; watching her stare at a wall and completely forget about me and Prim. The memories cause tears to well on the rims of my eyes.

Johanna and Peeta lead me through the nurses' office to the exit, stepping outside I see the couches on the left of me with everyone sitting on them and the grass field right in front of me. I stand there for a few moments suppressing the memories of my mother and father.

"Are you okay, Katniss?" Jo asks, the fact that she used my real name makes me know that she is worried. I blink a few times trying to rid of the tears that are blurring my vision.

"Um… yeah" I say, turning to face her and Peeta "let's go" I say. We walk over to the couches and everyone stands up. Gale walks straight to me and hugs me, I chuckle a little.

"I wasn't dying Gale! Don't worry" I say, jokingly. He releases the hug and holds me at arm's length.

"What was it? Heat stroke?" He asks, still worried.

"Umm… the nurse said stress which sounds about right" I answer. He raises an eyebrow at me. "It's just its final year and I'm thinking of exams and stuff" I lie, that has nothing to do with why I'm stressed, I'm stressed because of Peeta. He releases him arms on me and Annie comes up and gives me a quick hug. I smile at her and then everyone falls silent. I fidget with my fingernails; a bad habit of mine and wait for someone to break the silence.

"What should we do now?" Johanna asks. Everyone starts discussing what we could do. I really don't care what we do to be honest. I silently slip through the group and sit on the couches that were deserted when I arrived. I slump down on it and watch as they suggest different ideas of what our next adventure will be. I hear Johanna suggest skinny dipping at the beach and snicker at the idea, she just wants to see Gale naked.

I see a clip board on the couch beside the one I'm sitting on, I lean over and pick it up on the front it says 'daily activities'. I scan over it quickly and find out that tomorrow they have kayaking for the daily activity.

"Hey guys, tomorrow we should do the kayaking thing" I say, butting into the conversation.

"What kayaking thing?" Peeta asks, I look up and see everyone staring at me. I dropped my gaze to the clipboard when Peeta's deep eyes locked with mine with curiosity but a hint of sadness, I still feel like shit for what I did to him.

"The daily activity… it's kayaking tomorrow, we should do it" I say. They all nod in unison.

"Great, meet at theee…" I say and quickly scan the clip board for a time and place. It says that the kayaking is at the beach and that you go to a small island just off shore, they leave at 11:00am and you meet at the activity shed. "Activity shed at 10:30am" I say, looking back up to them and see that they are all smiling.

"Well we have tomorrow organised… what are we going to do for the rest of the day? It is only 1:40pm" Annie says. I sigh, I'm so tired. I really just want to sit around here and read a book. Everyone's eyes dart to me at the sound of my sigh; they all have their eyebrows raised questioningly.

"I'm just tired" I say "you guys can go do something though" I continue, feeling bad that they might miss out on something because of me.

"Yeah same, I'm sort of exhausted, I think I will hang around here" Peeta says casually. He walks over to the couches and sits on the one opposite me.

"Well, well, well…" Finnick says. Shit. This isn't going to end well. "You two want to hang around here hey?" He says. I begin to fiddle with my fingernails again

"Yeah, is that okay with you, Finnick? Oh I realise now… you wanted to spend time with Katniss" Peeta says jokingly. Finnick snorts loudly which causes me to chuckle.

"I'm going to go try out the rock climbing! Better be harder than the one at home, that one is so easy!" Gale says. I laugh and roll my eyes. Gale and I go to a rock climbing centre every Sunday back hom. It's fun and helps me clear my head.

"I think the one at home still challenges you a little, Gale" I joke. Gale thinks he is better than me at rock climbing, we have had races and I have won more than once but he still has this idea that he is better.

"Yeah, okay! Anyone want to come rock climbing with me?" Gale asks, looking around the group. Of course Johanna's head begins to bobble frantically.

"I will" she says, excitedly. I roll my eyes, Peeta sees me and snorts. I glance over at him and see him smiling at me smugly. I turn back to Johanna and Gale quickly, trying to avoid the sight of him.

"We will see you guys later, no fainting, Katniss" Gale says as he begins to walk with Johanna by his side along to the rock-climbing. Their voices becoming distant as they leave.

"me and Annie plan on going to paddle boarding, there is a place on the beach where you can hire them, we will be back at around 4 or 5" Finnick says, trying to hide a smile that is twitch at the corners of his lips. He is obviously excited and I know Annie would be too.

"Okay, you two have fun" I say, smiling at them, genuinely happy for them. They turn around and head for the sandy pathway that leads to the beach, just before they turn to corner and leave our sight I see Finnick's arm snake up from the position beside his body and slip around Annie's waist, I chuckle.


	16. False Sence Of Security

**I personally feel really proud of this chapter… I think it explains Katniss pretty well :) I don't own the songs in this chapter – the first one is counting stars by onerepublic and the second is deep in the meadow (out of the hunger games book) happy reading! And please leave a review!**

**CH16 – False Sense Of Security**

Katniss POV

The noise around us now vacant, I begin to pick up on the noises in the distance, I can hear the hum of a guitar being played not too far away. I recognise the song, its 'counting stars' by onerepublic. I really like this song, I can relate to it easily because it describes my situation in a way. I begin to hum along to the strum of it and it calms me. The hum soothing me and relaxing my body. I slide down and lay on the couch still humming to the soft melody, before I know it I'm singing the song quietly to myself.

_Old, but I'm not that old  
Young, but I'm not that bold  
I don't think the world is sold  
I'm just doing what we're told  
I feel something so right  
Doing the wrong thing  
I feel something so wrong  
Doing the right thing  
I could lie, coudn't I, could lie  
Everything that kills me makes me feel alive_

my surrounding become insignificant as the song begins to take me away to another world where the stress of reality is no longer existent. As the strum of the guitar becomes louder so do I.

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,  
Said, no more counting dollars  
We'll be counting stars _

I can feel my hips begin to sway to the melody in my seat and I know I'm smiling, it feels good to be relaxed and free. The music takes over me; embellishing this dull world into one of soft tunes and easy flow.

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,  
Said, no more counting dollars  
We'll be, we'll be counting stars_

I feel the love and I feel it burn  
Down this river, every turn  
Hope is a four-letter word  
Make that money, watch it burn  
Old, but I'm not that old  
Young, but I'm not that bold  
I don't think the world is sold  
I'm just doing what we're told  
I feel something so wrong  
Doing the right thing  
I could lie, could lie, could lie  
Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,  
Said, no more counting dollars  
We'll be counting stars

My eyes flutter close as the rhythm runs through my body, leaving a tingling sensation.

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,  
Said, no more counting dollars  
We'll be, we'll be counting stars_

I can feel my smile widen as my favorite part of the song comes up.

_Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned_

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

Everything that kills me makes feel alive

I continue singing through the song until the end.

_Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,  
Said, no more counting dollars  
We'll be counting stars_

Lately, I've been, I've been losing sleep  
Dreaming about the things that we could be  
But baby, I've been, I've been praying hard,  
Said, no more counting dollars  
We'll be, we'll be, counting stars

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

Take that money  
Watch it burn  
Sink in the river  
The lessons are learned

As the guitar strums fade and my voice retreats at the end of the song, I feel my eyes flutter open and I return to reality. My eyes take a few seconds to refocus but once I get a grip of the real world I go into a small state of shock. The person who was playing the guitar is now sitting on one of the couches and half the year is standing around the couches watching me. I sit their frozen from the site of the people around me.

"That was amazing!" I hear someone shout from the crowd of people. The crowd begins to spin and I start feeling dizzy. The small world that had enveloped me as I sang had betrayed me; it had cocooned me into a false sense of security causing me to show a part of me that was a secret. It was the first time I had sung since my dad died, I use to sing with him all the time. Singing was a part of me that belonged to my dad. When he left, so did my singing voice but something had changed that today, something brought my voice back to me and I sung.

It's not meant to be like that.

I'm not meant to sing without my dad.

The tears build on the rim of my eyes; they spill over, running down my cheeks and landing on my legs. I get to my feet quickly causing the floor underneath me to spill even more. I begin to run, pushing my way through the masses of people crowding the couches. I break free of their suffocating grasp on me and sprint across the soft grass. My vision becomes blurry, the world continues to spin underneath me and the sound of my sobs continues to drabble out any other noise around me.

**Time lapse**

I bury my feet further into the crunchy sand. I can hear the waves lapping over each other, fighting to be the one that reaches furthest up the sandy shore. The leaves of the tree above me rustle ever so slightly as the howl of the wind blows through the slim space between the branches. I push my back further into the stump of the tree, the rough bark pressing hard against my spine. My sobs are the only human noise around, the harsh breathes I take in and the croaky, chocking noises I let out.

Why did I sing?

WHY DID I FUCKING SING!

"I'm not allowed to sing" I sob to myself. "IM NOT FUCKING ALLOWED TO!" I shout, frustrated at my own act of defiance towards my dad's love. I pull my legs to my chest and slam my head into them my sobbing becoming louder and more overwhelming. There is a rustle above me and then a soft hum of a 3 note melody from above my head. I look up and stop a small bird with shades of black and white spread across it. I stare at it in awe. It twitches it neck and cock's it so it is looking at me, it hums the 3 note melody again and spreads its wings slightly. I repeat the 3 note melody quietly and the bird falls silent. I look back down to my hands.

I take in a deep breath and I begin the sing.

_Deep in the meadow, under the willow  
A bed of grass, a soft green pillow  
Lay down your head, and close your sleepy eyes  
And when again they open, the sun will rise._

Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you.

Here is the place where I love you.

Deep in the meadow, hidden far away  
A cloak of leaves, a moonbeam ray  
Forget your woes and let your troubles lay  
And when again it's morning, they'll wash away.

Here it's safe, here it's warm  
Here the daisies guard you from every harm  
Here your dreams are sweet and tomorrow brings them true  
Here is the place where I love you.

Tears are spilling from my eyes and the bird is silent, all I can hear is the rustling of the tree and the lapping of the water on the shore.

"I'm sorry dad, I love you" I whisper. That was the last song my dad ever sang me, he sang it to me right before he died. I feel the wind whip onto my wet cheek and send a shiver down my spine. The loneliness inside me gets replaced by anger as the bird repeats the lullaby. It's soft chirps changing the notes of the song.

"NO! You're not allowed to sing that! THAT ISNT YOUR SONG!" I shout at the bird hysterically, my legs wobbly as I begin to stand. "NO! STOP! STOP SINGING!" I scream at the bird. It doesn't move, it doesn't stop singing either. I grab a rock from the base of the tree and fling it up into the tree towards where the bird was perched. It scatters out of the tree, rustling the leaves as it goes.

My legs give way from below me and I land crumpled onto the floor my face burying into the dirt.

"WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME DAD?" I scream. "WHY DID YOU JUST GO?" I shout, letting the tears leave my eyes and gush onto the floor. The wind begins to howl loudly as if my dad was telling me to stop. I can't stop, he left me. He left me to care for Prim.

"YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME BECAUSE YOU JUST WENT!" I shout to no one, just the wistful wind that blows through my hair. The howl becomes louder again and I begin to shiver.

"You just left me; you walked out of this world because it was easier for you! You didn't want to fight for me anymore" I whisper into my shirt, muffling the sound.

**Time lapse**

I have sat here for a while, possibly hours. Not moving, I'm frozen in an awkward position in the dirt, staring at the ocean as the patterns waver non-stop. I hear the faint noise of feet behind me but I don't move. 2 warm arms slide under my body and I feel myself being lifted into the air, I shiver as the warmth of the ground underneath me disappears. Then my body begins to sway up and down as I move forward. I don't know what is happening; I'm still frozen, staring into the distance. I'm in the air for what seems likes hours until I'm placed onto something soft, I'm still looking at the ocean. Someone's hand touches my arm thrusting me back to reality and away from the small state of shock I was sent into. I snap my head around and see two sapphire eyes staring at me, worry and shock overwhelming the bright blue colour. I look around noticing I'm laying on a day bed that looks over the ocean, there is a blanket laying over me and a pillow under my head.

"W-where am I?" I ask my throat sore from the screaming and crying. Peeta rubs my arm soothingly

"don't worry, we are just outside the camp grounds, I went looking for you after you ran off and found you under the tree and brought you here, you were freezing" Peeta explains, concern present in his voice.

"What time is it?" I ask my voice croaky. He slips out his phone and slides it open then locks it again.

"7:10pm" He says looking back up to me.

"7:10, that means I have been out here for like 5 hours" I whisper to myself.

"Yeah I found you 10 minutes ago and you ran off at around 2:10pm" Peeta says quietly. My memory is foggy and all I can remember is singing and then pushing through people and then shouting at a bird. The tears well up in my eyes at the memory of the bird and it singing dad's song. Peeta's arms quickly wrap around me as I begin to cry and he whispers soothing things into my ear.

"You know you really are amazing at singing" he says after a few minutes of calming me down. I pull back from his warm embrace and look at him, his hair is slightly ruffled. I laugh nervously, my gaze dropping to my lap.


	17. Sing, Sing For Me

**I'm rather proud of this chapter - i think i have a thing for depressing, sad chapters. Again I don't own the song in this chapter – it is 'say something' by a great big world. I would like to thank** 'Ag2020.a' **for her constant reviews after every chapter! It is really appreciated :)**

**CH17 – Sing, Sing for me**

Peeta POV

"I haven't sung since my dad… died" she whispers. I know about her family, the whole school does; word travels quickly. Katniss' dad died from cancer when she was younger and her mother went into depression so she has to care for her younger sister but I heard that she never talked about it to anyone; not even Gale. I think the confusion registered on my face because she looks at me questioningly, I shake my head slightly, removing the thought from my head.

"Did he use to sing?" I asks softly, hoping the answers and doesn't block me out.

"Yeah, he taught me to sing, singing was a thing I did with him" she says, looking down to her fingernails.

"Why did you stop?" I ask cautiously, I don't want to scare her from talking to me. Her eyes dart up to mine, her tangled braid swaying slightly as her head jolts upward. I can feel her gaze burning into my eyes. She opens her mouth and then closes is hesitantly. "It's alright… you can tell me" I whisper to her. She begins to shift in her seat and fidgeting with her hands.

"It was like it was a part-" she starts but sighs loudly "you wouldn't understand" she says, dropping her gaze once again to her lap. I let out a frustrated sigh.

"Katniss, I don't need to understand I just need to know… I can help you, talking can help" I say, trying to stay calm. Her eyes begin to scan my face as if she was checking if I was joking or not. She lets out a deep breath and slowly opens her mouth to talk.

"What if I don't want you to help? It's none of your business anyway!" She says to me, raising her voice slightly.

"Look, Katniss, calm down, I jus-" I say

"I'm not fucking calming down! I don't need to explain to you why I don't sing! Why do you even care?" She begins to shout at me

"Because friends care, that's why" I say quietly

"Well we aren't friends so you can go live your perfect life as a rich boy with a caring family, a big house and a nice car! You can go find the perfect, blond, bimbo to cling to your arm and live happily ever after, you don't need to care about me!" she shouts at me, slightly raising in her seat as the tears begin to run down her cheeks. She thinks my life is perfect. My life is anything but perfect. I feel the frustration in me become too much and I burst.

"You don't know anything about my fucking life! It is anything but the perfect picture you're creating! Sure my family has quite a bit of money but that doesn't mean I have a caring family… my mother beats me, do you think that is fucking caring! You think that your life is hard and it may be, but that doesn't mean other people don't have fucking hard lives as well!" I gush loudly. Letting all the anger in me come rushing out in my words, the pain of the truth slipping with it. Katniss' looks sorry for a moment but the expression is quickly switched to anger again.

"Yeah well least the whole school doesn't know about your fucking problems! Least you're not known as the poor, teenage girl who is trying to care for her younger sister with the little money she can get from her job because her mother forgot about them and their dad fucking died! LEAST YOU'RE NOT LABELED BY YOUR PROBLEMS!" she shouts at me, the sobs causing her voice to crack at the end and she collapses onto the ground. I can't watch her be in so much pain, I lean over to comfort her as her sobs become hysterical.

"go away! I don't want your pity!" she shouts at me and retreats from my touch. I sigh loudly and run a hand over my face.

"Look, Katniss… I know that your life has been tough, so has mine" I chuckle nervously "you know those scars you noticed on the bus… the ones on my stomach" I say and Katniss looks up to me solemnly, her eyes which were once a light grey are now dark and rimmed with red and puffy, her hair is messy and sticking to her skin. I sigh. What I'm about to say; I have never told anyone. I steady my breathing for a few moments, the silence becoming eerie and long. "They were from my mother, she beats me. When I was younger I got the scars, most of them from her throwing glass bottles at me but the largest one" I say, lifting my shirt and tracing the large white, shiny scar that ran from my collar bone to the top of my abs with my fingertip "it was created when she tried to kill me" I say coldly and I feel a shudder run through my body.

"She-she tried to k-kill you?" Katniss stutters, shock consuming her features and making me self-conscious. My head bows as the pain of sharp-edged memories of my mother flash through my mind.

"When I was 9 years old, she broke a window in rage and then grabbed one of the shards of glass cut the front of my chest with it" I say, trying to stay strong but my voice cracking. Katniss' face drops, the despair fogging her eyes and making them glassy. "my dad found me and my mother but she just said that I was messing around and broke the window and a piece cut me" I know I'm crying, I reach up and wipe them away but as quickly as I wipe them they are replaced by newer ones.

"-I didn't know… I'm so sorry" Katniss says apologetically.

"Yeah well as you said, I'm not labeled by my problems, you're the only person that I have ever told" I whisper. The air between us falls silent, the wind howling and the quiet crash of the beach creating a tranquillizing background noise. My breathing begins to steady out as the tears stop flowing and I can feel my heart rate slow down. I look at Katniss, the moon light dimly lighting her face, I look away when she catches me staring at her.

"It was like my voice was taken away with him" Katniss says suddenly, causing my eyes to quickly flicker to her. She picks up on my confusion and continues on. "When my dad died, I just couldn't sing, it didn't feel right, it made me feel sick to sing… I just didn't do it but today, over at the couches, something changed that, it felt good to sing again… I felt relaxed and free" she says quietly.

"Sing" I ask her "sing for me". Katniss looks up at me with shock and annoyance written on her face but it fades and a soft smile forms, she blushes a bright red and then takes a few breathes and begins to sing…

_Say something I'm giving up on you  
I'll be the one if you want me to  
Anywhere I would have followed you  
Say something I'm giving up on you_

And I am feeling so small  
It was over my head  
I know nothing at all

And I will stumble and fall  
I'm still learning love  
Just starting to crawl

Say something I'm giving up on you  
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
Anywhere I would have followed you  
Say something I'm giving up on you

And I will swallow my pride  
You're the one that I love  
And I'm saying goodbye

Say something I'm giving up on you  
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you  
Anywhere I would have followed you

Say something I'm giving up on you  
Say something I'm giving up on you  
Say something

I sit there in misbelief, how can someone with such a lovely voice spend most of her life not singing? Her voice is soft and vulnerable but strong and determined at the same time. It creates a sensation inside me that spreads through my body, warming it to the core. I sit there, watching her blankly and she begins to fidget now that she has finished and the silence has set in again.

"It feels right to sing again" she says, leaning back and resting on her hands as she stares at the sky. I don't know how to respond to that and she chuckles a little, looking back at me "I think it is you" she says and through the moon light I think I can see her cheeks flush red.

"I can have that effect on people" I joke, giving her a little wink. She laughs and looks back up to the sky.

"Have you ever wondered what happens once you die" She asks me, her eyes not moving from the starry blanket above us

"No, not really, I would prefer to live in the moment then to think of what could be" I say, shaking my head as I look up to the deep blue sky.

"Hmm" she sighs, a look of disappointment on her face.

"Come here" I say patting the spot beside me on the couch as she is still sitting on the grass ground. As the words leave my lips I can feel my heart rate accelerate and my head begin to pound, nervousness takes over me causing me to freeze in self-consciousness. Katniss slowly stands from her reclined spot in the grass and slides down next to me. The touch of her skin jolts me back into motion and I move and wrap my arm around her shoulder pulling her into my chest. She laughs quietly and then lays her head against my shoulder sending a shiver down my spine at the close proximity of our bodies and how easy it would be to bend down and kiss her but I urge my mind to stop wondering to fantasies that will never come true and just enjoy to touch of her against my body.

"Thankyou, Peeta" Katniss mumbles into my shirt "it really helped" and I feel the nervous smile spread across my face and her heat radiates from her body.

"Anytime, Katniss" I whisper back to her and she cuddles further into my shoulder.


	18. Unique

**This chapter is really cute :') well that is my opinion! Anyway thankyou to the guest reviewer who gave me the sweetest review! I'm really happy with the amount of review/favs/follows/views I have! So thankyou so much everyone! Hope you enjoy this chapter! I also have ideas for 2 other stories that I'm going to write when I finish this story!**

**CH18 – Unique**

Annie POV

"Finnick!" I giggle "we really should get going now" I say, searching the glistening blue water for his bronze hair. I see a murky shadow move below me but before I can react he pops out of the water in front of me and slings his arms around my waist and easily puts me over his shoulder.

"What are you doing! We need to go!" I say as Finnick begins to laugh in his deep voice that causes a throbbing between my legs.

"Come on, Annie! Let's have some fun!" he pleads, placing me back down into the luminous water and looking me in the eye. His mouth is twirled up in a cute half-smile and his eyes are looking down on me from his towering height causing the throbbing between my legs to intensify. Finnick's eyes get lit up by the sunlight and a burst of courage runs through my veins.

"You want fun, I'll give you fun" I say, jumping up onto his chest and twine my legs around his waist. I weave my arms behind his neck to steady myself on his body. His toned torso pushes against my stomach and I melt into his body. I look up and face him; he has a grin wavering over his face making him look like a Cheshire cat.

"You're different Annie" he says, chuckling. What does he mean by different, I begin to feel hurt by the use of his words. _Different… _different in a bad way? Finnick's chuckle quickly fades and he quickly shakes his head

"No… not like that, in a good way! I have never been with someone like you… you're _unique_" he says hastily, trying to reinforce that he meant no offence.

"_Unique_" I say, repeating his words. No one has ever used the word unique to describe me, it makes my mind whirl as it thinks of all the meaning of such a simple word and my heart flutter as it takes in the way he has chosen to describe me. But then his words hit me '_I have never been with someone like you'…_we aren't together; I haven't even known him for 3 days! Sure I had a crush on him for a while and I would love to be with him but… I haven't even known him for 3 days!

"Um… Fin, I-I don't want this to be a relationship" I say "not right now I mean! I have only known you for 3 days" I add quickly, not wanting for him to feel hurt. His face contorts into a small frown that disappears as quickly as it came.

"Don't worry, I-I didn't mean it that way… I'm talking about friends... I have never been friends with someone like you" he says quickly, still holding me against his chest. I giggle a little as his cheeks become a light red colour that is hidden against his bronze skin colour.

"Why am I different?" I ask, biting my bottom lip as I wait for his answer. He looks at me for a few moments and I begin to feel self-conscious and down to the wavering water below me.

"because you're smart and funny, you are selfless and always care for others, you're sweet and quiet… you're not like the other girls" he says and I listen carefully, hanging off his every word as my brain processes what he is saying. A small part of my brain tells me that he tells this to all the girls but I push it back and just take in the bliss moment. I unlock my legs from around his waist and he lowers me down into the radiant water. My hands slide over his bulging muscles as they slip down his arms and into the water. I float on my back looking up to the evening sky, it's around 5pm, we hired a paddle board for 2 hours so we had to give them back at 3:50pm and had decided to just spend the rest of the evening swimming. The clouds float around in the sky that is dimming into a very light orange as the sun begins to set. I sigh loudly.

"What's wrong?" Finnick asks, floating in the water just behind me

"Peeta really likes Katniss, doesn't he" I say quietly, my eyes still affixed on the sky as the colours begin to waver and slowly form into a bliss mixture of pinks and oranges.

Finnick makes a weird choking noise and I sway in the water to turn and face him, his eyes are wide with shock as he looks at me but his eyebrows are furrowed together and his mouth keeps opening and closing as he tries to form words that just come out as more chocking noises.

"What?" I ask, puzzled by his strange reaction.

"No! No, Peeta doesn't like Katniss!" he says quickly and I raise my eye brows at him giving him a 'stop lying' look.

"I'm not an idiot, Finnick" I say slapping his shoulder as his face contorts into different expressions.

"How-how did you know?" He whispers as if someone could hear him from all the way out here.

"It's obvious! I can also tell that Johanna also has a crush on Gale and that Gale likes her back but is fighting the feeling because he likes-" I quickly cut off realising what I just told him. "SHIT! No I didn't say any of that!" I shout at him, he chuckles evilly.

"Who does gale like?" Finnick asks real curiosity in his voice.

"Umm… me! Gale likes me!" I say quickly "so anyway… umm… Was Peeta alright after what happened outside the tent?" I say, changing the subject as quickly as I can. Finnick looks in thought for a while and then a stupid grin spreads across his face. I know my stupid lie hadn't fooled him.

"Let's come to a compromise… I will tell you about Peeta if you tell me about Gale" He says giving me a wink that causes my mind to wonder for a moment. I shake my head the rid of the fantasies that run through my mind and nod once in agreement.

"okay… well Johanna likes Gale and Gale likes her back but he won't admit it to himself because he also has feelings for Katniss" I gush quickly "he has liked her for ages but Katniss, being the oblivious person she is, hasn't noticed… she thinks of him as a brother which makes things awkward for Gale but he still keeps trying" I sigh after I finish it all.

"How do you know this" Finnick asks me in shock, shaking his head slightly and smirking.

"I'm observant, like I notice that you are trying to keep me talking about Gale because you don't want to take about what is happening with Peeta" I say, my turn to smirk now "but a deal is a deal, so spill it" I say. He sighs and looks around, checking if anyone is nearby.

"Okay… Peeta likes Katniss. He has liked her for a while but only told me the day before we left, Katniss had run into him in the hall way and I mean actually pushing him to the ground and landing on top of him" he says, laughing as he recalls the incident in the hall way of school. "Anyway… that night in the movie room, he told me they had almost kissed but Katniss ran off and then when we were on the couch later that night Katniss texted me and asked me to hand the phone to Peeta, when he handed the phone back the messages between them had been deleted and then he said he was going to get some food" he says, looking anywhere but at me. "But at the beach they acted like nothing had happened, they were messing around and flirting and whatever else. But it killed Peeta when he heard Katniss talking about him being clingy when she was in the tent" he say and I don't know what to say in response

"Wow" is all I manage to get out after the moments of silence between us. I slip onto my back and float in the water staring back at the sky that is a deep orange with a pink strip swirling around the clouds floating in the sky. "I know that Katniss likes him… she gets all flustered when we talk about him" I say, sighing. "She is just scared… she is scared of caring for someone else after she realised what kind of person Cato was and after… after what happened with her parents" I say and I hear Finnick swirl in the water as the words leave my lips.

"Her mum went into depression" he says casually "and her dad died"

"More like her dad died and her mum went into depression. Her mum went into depression _because_ of her dad's death" I explain. "Okay… can we change the subject now, I don't like talking about Katniss' family without her knowing" I say, running a hand through my hair that is drifting around my shoulders in the glistening water. Finnick laughs a little as he swims up next to me, smiling. To my surprise his arms reach out to each side of me and then he begins to tickle me, I squirm ferociously in his grip as I giggle uncontrollably.

"S-s-stop! F-f-f-incick… Stop!" I scream as her tickles me, my giggles over powering the words that are trying to escape the imprisonment of my lips. After a while Finnick stops tickling me and pulls my back flush against his bare chest and wraps his arms around my shoulders, he places his chin on top of my head and sighs.

We are facing the sun as it fades into the horizon. The flowing ocean lighting up with a golden glow and the flowing stretch of clouds lighting up into a lick of flame as the golden light beams through them. The picture in front of us holding a mystical beauty that belongs in a picture. The sun sinks lower and lower into the ocean, the golden light that flickered on our faces fading into a lusty blue. The night sky takes over as the last bit of the sun dips below the horizon of the swaying ocean. The bright beauty that was just ahead of us disappearing and being replaced by the darkness that consumes the sky when the small, twinkling stars come out to play. I sigh knowing that with the vanishing of the sun comes the need for me and Finnick to head back to dry land.

"Can we stay" I whisper to Finnick, placing my hands on top of his that are still wrapped around my neck

"Of course" he says, not moving from his warming position, wrapped around my body.


	19. Your Feelings

**Sorry I missed updating yesterday! Was at a concert, hanging in the mosh pit ;) I'm just curious… can anyone guess my age? I really want to know how old you guys think I am! Hope you enjoy reading… I like the beginning of this chapter but not the end :/**

**CH19 – Your Feelings**

Katniss POV

My eyes slowly open and the light floods into them, I squeeze them shut as the pain of the bright light hits my irises. I open my eyes again; slowly this time, allowing time for them to adjust to the bright lighting that is flowing through the window of the tent. Johanna and Annie aren't in their beds. I moan loudly and roll onto my side covering my eyes with my arm. The soft fabric of my long sleeved shirt rubs against my face and sooths me. My eyes flutter shut and I can feel myself begin to fade into the darkness of sleep.

"Wake up bitch! We are going kayakinggggg!" my eyes snap open from the sudden booming of Johanna's voice. The gleaming light streaming violently into my eyes again and searing them painfully. I ignore the pain and scan the room for Johanna, just as my eyes focus onto her standing in front of me, I get hit in the head with something soft.  
"What the hell?" I shout as I start thrashing at Johanna as she hits me repetitively with the soft item.

"Stop!" I shout as her as she laughs. "What the hell is this?" I yell as I yank at my sleeping bag to protect myself from the constant thrashing of the soft item. As Johanna's laughing becomes louder the thrashings become weaker and I take this as my chance to grab her weapon. I fling my arms out as Johanna begins to swing it at me. I grip on to it and pull it from Johanna's grip noticing that it is a pillow as I do. I frown at her as she continues to laugh. I swing the pillow behind my head and then pound it against the side of her face, smiling widely as I do.

"Payback's a bitch" I squeal as I begin to hit her with the pillow. She runs away from me and I disembark my bed and chase her thrashing the pillow in her direction as I trip over bags and clothes that are scattered on the ground of our tent. Johanna slips out the unzipped door to our tent and I follow completely oblivious to the fact that I'm still in my pyjamas. I freeze just in front of the tent as I see Finnick, Peeta and Gale all standing right in front of me. I look down at myself; I'm in my old pyjama shorts that are too small for me and an extra-large white t-shirt that hangs off me baggily. I'm still holding the pillow that I was using to hit Johanna and I can only guess what my hair and face looks like.

"Oh… hey guys" I say, looking back up to them and smiling. The worry of what I look like disappearing into the back of my head. I don't really care anymore, we are all friends. Gale begins to chuckle, trying to hold back the laugh that is obviously building up. Finnick joins in and Peeta just stands there smirking at me.

"What? Don't like my outfit for today?" I joke, pulling a stupid pose and winking at them. It causes Finnick and Gale to lose it along with Johanna who has been laughing continuously since she started hitting me. Finnick stops for a few moments looking at me.

"I reckon she looks great! I mean the way that her too-small-shorts clutch her ass perfectly and how the baggy shirt hangs and makes her leg looks longer" Finnick says, looking serious. I smirk at him and then begin hitting him with the pillow.

"you're" I say before hitting him "not" I hit him again "allowed" I hit him "to" hit him "say that!" I finish, releasing rapid thrusts of the pillow against his head. He laughs and tries to block his face with his hands.

"Okay, we get it! Now go get ready for kayaking before they leave without us!" Johanna says, grabbing my shoulders and pushing me backwards back into the tent and zipping the door up locking me inside and everyone else out.

"I'm not finished with you, Finnick!" I shout through the thin material that is now blocking me from punishing Finnick for his description of my outfit. I sigh and head towards my bag digging through for something to wear. I decide on my bright-green and black bikini with a pair of frayed, high waisted denim shorts and a light, cotton button-up shirt which I roll up at the arms and leave unbuttoned to expose my bikini top. I collect everything I'm going to need for the day trip to the small island.

When I leave my tent everyone is gone. I look around for a bit and can't find them. I pull out my phone from my bag and check the screen; no messages or calls. I slip it back into my pocket and scan the camp grounds for them but they aren't there. I walk over to the couches and slide onto one of them letting out a sigh.

"Hey kit-kat" Annie says from behind me. I spin around and smile as I see her familiar, sweet grin and green eyes.

"Hey, Annie! Where is everyone?" I ask her as I scan the area again, thinking that they might be with Annie but no luck.

"Oh they all gave up on waiting for you so they went to the activity shed" She replies, giggling a little.

"I didn't even take long!" I say to her, rolling my eyes "shouldn't _we_ be at the activity shed?" I ask her, confused by her presence at the couches.

"No, it's only 9:45am, they wanted to check out the equipment in there; like the surfboards and skate-boards and stuff" she said, sitting beside me lightly. I nodded and slipped out my phone again opening up the messaging app and beginning to type into the screen of the phone

**Me: **hey prim! We haven't talked in ages! I'm going kayaking to a small island today! What have u been doing? I miss u 3"

I press the send button on the text and look up to Annie who is sitting next to me quietly.

"So… how was your date with Finnick" I ask her quietly, a smile twitching at my lips as the words leave my mouth.

"It wasn't a date! We went paddle boarding for a while and then we swam and after that we talked and watched the sunset" she says, sighing with the recall of her time with Finnick. "Katniss, I was talking to Finnick and you and Pe-" She say, getting cut off by the ring of my phone.

"Sorry" I say to her, pulling the phone from my pocket and checking the screen

**Prim:** hey kit-kat! Sounds like so much fun! Who r u going with? I went on a date with RORY last night! Well it wasn't really a date, we just went to the park that is near the hawthorns house and sat by the lake but it was fun!

I reread the text a few times. I wonder what it would be like living with your crush. I begin to text back to her

**Me:** Peeta, Johanna, Gale, Annie, and Finnick :) that is gr8! Did u guys kiss? I think I should tell Gale about ur little obsession with his little brother! ;) What r u doing 2day?

I click send and within seconds Prim has replied

**Prim:** r u and Peeta friends again? No we didn't :( but we are going to the beach together today.. just the 2 of us! AND DON'T U DARE! GALE CAN NOT KNOW!

I laugh at the text, my cute, little; innocent, young sister is growing up so fast. I quickly text her back

**Me:** yes we r friends. Have fun little duck! Xx

I click send and then slip the phone away again, turning back to Annie and smiling at her

"Sorry, it was Prim; she has a crush on Rory!" I say laughing. Her eyes widen and she begins to laugh in her sweet high-pitched voice.

"Rory, as in Gale's younger brother?" she asks in shock. I nod my head in response to her question laughing as well

"But she tells me I'm not allowed to tell Gale" I say mimicking prims girly voice. Annie begins to laugh larder. I lie back down onto the soft couch and sigh.

"She's growing up too fast" I say, staring at the dull roof that covers my head.

"She's been through a lot, Katniss. So have you… she's just finding someone to h-help her with it… a-and maybe you should too" Annie says and I can tell she is hesitant about saying it. I repeat her words in my head over and over trying to sort out the meaning of her simple statement as I overthink every word. I sigh, frustrated at how such a simple statement can send me into such a spin.

"What do you mean by help? You and Gale help me, I don't need any other help" I say, trying to clarify what she was saying

"Katniss, you need a help that neither I nor Ga- well maybe Gale, but help that I can't give you… "She trails off at the end and to be honest, I don't know what she is inferring.

"What do you mean though? What help can you not give me that Gale can?" I ask. Annie sighs loudly, obviously frustrated to my naivetés to what she is telling me.

"Katniss… I'm not saying Gale should be the one supplying this help but you need to let someone in… let them become closer than just friends, you need someone to lov-" Annie explains, stopping mid-sentence and looking away from me. I become extremely confused and look around for an explanation to her unexplained silence. I spot the guys and Johanna heading towards us from the activity shed by I know they are still out of hearing distance.

"Annie, what is so serious, they can't know about it" I ask her quickly, trying to get an answer before they get close enough to hear.

"Katniss! You need to figure it out yourself… they are your feelings!" she says quickly. I know I probably look like a 7 year old trying to do a 17 year olds homework. What the hell does she mean? _They are my feelings?_ What are my feelings? I sigh and slump lower into the couch's cushions. This holiday has become too complicated for me to understand.


	20. Anywhere But Here

**Big number 20! I actually have no idea where this story is going! I have a few scenes that I want to include but besides that… I'm making it up as I go! I hope you guys enjoy reading :) leave a review with your thoughts!**

**CH20 – Anywhere But Here**

Gale POV

"Is sleeping beauty and the sea goddess ready for a kayaking trip?" Finnick asks Katniss and Annie. I snort at his stupid attempt at flirting and Katniss rolls her eyes, Annie on the other hand blushes a bright red and she giggles a little. I stifle a laugh at the sight of a flustered Annie.

"Finnick, your _charm_ is unnecessary, I already know I look beautiful after sleep" Katniss replies sarcastically, but she doesn't seem to as casual as usual. She looks kind of confused and in thought. I wave off the thought as she begins to laugh, flashing her beautiful white teeth. I smile a little, seeing Katniss happy makes me feel better, she has been through so much and just seeing her smile makes me feel better.

"Okay then, let's go! Its 10:30 all ready" Peeta says, smiling as well. The 2 girls get up and we head back to the activity shed where the kayaking instructor will meet us. When we get there, there is a man who looks to be in his early 40's lounging on a plastic chair. He is wearing a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that is stained and discoloured but I'm pretty sure it is meant to be white. He has long, greasy hair that goes to the collar of his shirt; it is a dirty-blonde colour. It looks like he hasn't shaved in a while because his jaw is lined with stubble and he is holding a white plastic bottle that he takes continues sips out of. The only thought my mind seems to conjure about this man is 'why is he here?' As we approach the man he sighs loudly and stumbles off his chair ungracefully.

"Hello… you people. Welcome to today's _wonderful _activity. We will be kayaking to a small island called district 12. A stupid name I know. The kayaks seat 2 people, so pair up" The man says in a monotone. It is obvious he would prefer to be anywhere but here.

"Hey, Catnip you want to-" I start to say but I'm quickly cut off

"Me and Finnick, Johanna and Gale and Peeta and Katniss!" Annie chirps, happily bouncing over and standing next to Finnick. I sigh, I was hoping to go with Catnip, but it doesn't look like that is happening.

"Yeah... now that you guys are partnered up with your boyfriends and girlfriends and whatever, go grab one of those things over there and a life jacket and head to the beach" The man says nodding in the direction of the kayaks and lifejackets. "I'm Haymitch by the way, the activity coordinator" He spins around, dramatically putting his leg in the air and begins to walk towards the beach.

"You mean… we are meant to _carry_ the kayaks to the _beach!_" Finnick states pedantically. Haymitch grumbles and then shouts over his shoulder

"Get over it, pretty boy. You have to do _some_ of the work" I let out a chuckle and Finnick sends me a death glare.

"Come on, pretty boy. Let's go carry the kayaks to the beach!" I say, mimicking his voice. He walks towards the overspilling pile of kayaks, shoving my shoulder as he passes.

"Come on, Kat! I'm not doing all the work" Peeta says as he begins to follow Finnick to the kayaks. Catnip laughs and then jogs to catch up with him.

"Well I don't have these!" she says jabbing his biceps and I roll my eyes, since when has Katniss been _flirty._ Well two can play at that game.

"Come on Johanna!" I say in a deep, husky voice and I see Katniss glace back at me, I give her a smug smirk and envelope Johanna's shoulders with my arm. Johanna nudges my arm off of her shoulders and smirks at me.

"If you think sucking up to me is going to get me to carry the kayak, you're wrong" she states and struts ahead of me. I stand there in shock. I have just had 2 girls completely ignore me. I groan and head to the kayaks. By the time I get there Annie and Finnick have got their kayak that is a red and orange colour and are heading towards the beach, Annie is giggling at something Finnick said as he has a carefree smile. Peeta and Katniss are pushing each other playfully as they approach a blue and green kayak and Johanna is standing beside a kayak with different tones of purple with one hand on her hip and is staring at me.

"Hurry up, Gale! We haven't got all day!" she says, laughing and leaning over to pick up one side of the kayak. I join her and lift the other side and we begin to head to the beach, the kayak swaying by our side; hitting my right leg continuously. Johanna bounds along the path in front of me, strides long, proud, powerful and strong. Her left arm swaying, simultaneously, back and forth as her right clutched the strap of the kayak with a grip that looks like could strangle someone. Her hips sway with each step she takes. Her short black hair sits in a high pony tails that falls to her neck. She is wearing a plain black tank top with a pair of denim shorts and thongs.

Johanna was quite different; she is confident in herself and isn't afraid to speak her mind even if the words aren't what someone wants to hear. But I see someone below that hard exterior and reputation she has built, someone that is vulnerable and has secrets. Johanna falters in her _tough act_ though, you can see moments when her eyes flicker with emotions of sadness and neglect, along with love and longing. The emotions that she buries in the deepest part of her under lock and key, but even the things with the toughest security can slip, and as does Johanna's emotions. I find myself longing to know more about Johanna, I want to know what she is hiding behind those hard brown eyes. I stumble on a rock as my mind begins to wander towards what her lips would feel against mine pulling me to reality. I curse to myself at the stupid images and thoughts my mind had conjured, I don't even like Johanna! I like Katniss!

I look up and realise we are at the beach. Johanna drops the front of the kayak roughly onto the soft spread of sand beneath our feet. I, in suit, drop the back of the kayak into the sand and turn to face the rest of our group. Katniss, Annie and Finnick are chatting beside their kayaks while Peeta is talking to a frustrated Haymitch. Johanna walks off and joins Katniss, Annie and Finnick. I decide to go and talk to Haymitch to find out what, exactly, we are doing.

"Come to yell at me too, boy?" Haymitch asks me in a humoured voice and Peeta rolls his eyes.

"Um… I came to find out what we are doing" I say awkwardly, trying to avoid conflict. Haymitch laughs.

"Well, boy. _You _are going to be kayaking to _that_ island with _your _friends while _I_ sit _here_ and hang out with _my_ friend" Haymitch says, shaking the white, plastic bottle. Until now, I hadn't realised the putrid smell that is emitted from Haymitch. It smells of BO and liquor.

"What is _your_ friend exactly" I ask, already guessing at the answer. I raise my eyebrow at him as he begins to chuckle.

"Well, I think you are old enough to understand that every man needs a little liquor to get through the day" He says swaying slightly as if he were on a rocking boat. Peeta sighs loudly and stomps off toward our group of friends.

"Hey, listen. We just want you to take us to the island and get us back, you can drink as much as you want as long as you act at least a _little_ like a coordinator" I say flatly, hoping he would understand my simple request. Haymitch laughs once again.

"Do you think that I'm going to get onto one of those things and paddle all the way out to district 12 you must be crazy? I'm not one of those _let's do this_ coordinators. So either you get going, or you put the kayaks away" Haymitch explains to me. They really need to employ a new activity coordinator. This guy is hopeless. I sigh and walk over to the group and begin to explain what the man told me.

"So he is saying we just go to district 12 by _ourselves…_ it is like 4 kilometres out to sea! What if we get stranded or some shit?!" Johanna yells, I shrug and she rolls her eyes.

"Well I'm not doing that!" Annie pitches in.

"Yeah, that's way too dangerous!" Finnick adds, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head. Peeta sighs and doesn't say anything, obviously too frustrated at our coordinator.

"Well I don't know about you guys but I'm getting to district 12 and our coordinator is coming" Katniss says spitefully and I nod. Not to my surprise Katniss begins to walk over to Haymitch, everyone and everything goes silent and you can hear the sand under her feet crunching with every step. Well I doubt this is going to end well.

"Who do you think you are!? You can't just sit here and expect us to kayak all the way out there by ourselves! Get off your drunken ass and do your job!" Katniss shouts at Hatmitch, who is now sitting in the sand sipping his liquor.

"Well, sweetheart…"


	21. Not Giving A Fuck

**To the guest viewer who asked; this is an everlark! Is just takes a while for them to get together! Thankyou for all the reviews! Keep them coming! Writing chapter 24 right now… enjoy reading :) and leave a review!**

**CH21 – Not Giving A Fuck**

Peeta POV

"Well sweetheart… If you think I'm going to kayak all the way out there with a group of rowdy teens, you have something else coming! I'm here to _coordinate _not baby sit. So I'm coordinating you love-stricken, rebellious little brats to kayak your way over to district 12 and then come back before dark" Haymitch states, giving Katniss a sarcastic smile which quickly disappears as he takes another gulp of his drink. I can see that Katniss is furious at his attitude and she isn't going to back down anytime soon.

"Well, you lonely, drunk, old man. YOU HAVE A FUCKING JOB! And that job is to take care of us!" She indicates towards the group as she shouts at Haymitch. "and if you don't give a fucking cows ass about our safety then maybe you she get your drunken, sad body a job that isn't taking care of fucking teens lives!" she states aggressively, staring at Haymitch intensely and not faltering in her stance. She was good at this; standing up for herself. Haymitch's mouth pulls up into a massive smile, but not a sincere one, more of a 'you have no idea what you're talking about' one.

"You know what..." Haymitch says struggling to stand "I like you, you have… spunk" he then goes to lift the bottle of liquor to his lips but Katniss quickly snatches it from his hand staring directly at him.

"Yeah, well if you don't start doing your job, this spunk is going to be bashing your ass!" she says, viciously opening the bottle and emptying its contents into the soft sand around her feet.

"What builds the anger in you? Huh, what is it sweetheart? More boy trouble?" Haymitch says flatly, his eyes flickering to me and then back to Katniss so quickly that I begin to think it might not have happened "or maybe your favourite fashion store closed down? It's nothing compared to the shit that has happened in my broken life. So get off my back, okay? And go enjoy being young and not giving a fuck" He says and for just a few seconds I see pain and sadness quiver in his grey eyes. I begin to feel guilty for how tough Katniss had been on him, but it disappears as Katniss begins to speak

"I can't enjoy being _young and not giving a fuck _when my eleven year old sister is staying at a friend's house because I'm here!" Katniss shouts back at him "I can't not care when I have to take care of here day in and day out! My life doesn't consist of boyfriends and shopping… for fuck sake, I can't even afford shopping! So stop complaining about how shit your life has been because mine hasn't been as hokey-pokey as I would have liked either!" She shouts, tears sliding down her cheeks and she stares blankly at him.

"Well no one comes out of this world the same, everyone's a little fucked up in the end" Haymitch says glumly but with a sincere look in his steely grey eyes.

"come on, Katniss" I say softly, tenderly grabbing her arm and pulling her towards a tree away from everyone else, she doesn't resist which is helpful.

"You all right?" I ask her after we sit in silence for a while under the shade of a large palm tree overhead us. She nods her head but the tears give a different answer. "Hey, you can tell me, you know that" I tell her, placing my hand on thigh and smiling cautiously. Her eyes waver between the placement of my hand on her thigh and my eyes that are facing her directly.

"Really, there isn't anything to tell" she says, smoothing out the sand under her long legs. I sigh in frustration.

"Come on, Katniss. We talked the other night, can't we do it again? Just tell me, you know it will help" I explain to her in frustration. She pushes my hand off her leg harshly but doesn't move or say anything. I pick up a rock sitting next to me and throw it, trying to release the anger that had built up in me from Katniss' unwillingness to talk. I sigh and this seems to push her over the line.

"Why does he think it is alright to ruin a good time for other people just because his life is fucking shit!" she says coldly, looking straight forward towards the water and kayaks that were meant to be carrying us to district 12.

"Katniss, people respond to grief differently, his was to drown out what ever issues he had with alcohol" I say calmly

"But that's not the right way to deal with your grief!" she say, directing her gaze to me.

"It might not be the best way, but it's all he could do" I say, my eyes delving into hers for the source of her frustration towards the way an old man who drinks away his problems.

"I know how it feels to drink to forget, my mother did it and when it got really bad I joined" she says, calmer than before; her voice filled with solemness. "And don't tell me that I shouldn't be drinking because I know. But I stopped because drinking so much that your life becomes a blur is wrong and he should know that" she says and I feel sorriness beginning to flood through me. Katniss' life was harder than I thought. She wasn't just the girl who was caring for her sister; she had problems that were too dark for someone so young.

"Hey, it's all right. You don't need to explain, I understand" I say, my arm finding its way around her shoulders and drawing her into my chest.

"That's cute" says someone from behind us, Katniss pulls away from me quickly and looks behind us, I do the same and I find Haymitch standing behind us.

"Oh, it's you" Katniss says bitterly, turning to look back at the ocean. I sigh and rub her arm softly.

"Hey, I came to apologise, sweetheart" Haymitch says sitting on the other side of Katniss his legs crooked up and his elbows resting on his knees.

"Well you're not forgiven" Katniss says, her eyes not moving from their secure spot of the ocean in front of her.

"Katniss, come on, just listen to him" I ask her, pleadingly.

"Katniss…" Haymitch says, looking puzzled "are you Katniss Everdeen?" He asks his eyes going wide with shock and the lines on his forehead becoming clear as he frowns at her.

"How the fuck do you know me?" Katniss asks, her eyes leaving the ocean and darting to Haymitch.

"Your dad is Jacob Everdeen" He says and he looks as though he is close to crying. "You-you're his daughter" he stutters as he stares at Katniss.

"And who are you?" Katniss asks, fear lightly tinting her features as she looks at Haymitch's shocked face.


	22. Get Back To Work

**Sorry for not updating yesterday! Was at a party :) Well a little bit of everlark messing around in this chapter and more to come in the next few chapters! Well please review and enjoy reading!**

**CH22 – Get Back To Work**

Katniss POV

"I-I'm… he is…. You're his… how are you?" Haymitch stutters, looking at me blankly.

"Who… are you?" I ask him. How does he know my dad?

"I'm your uncle… in a way" Haymitch says slowly, disbelief lacing his words and it makes me second guess what he is telling me. _Uncle._ My dad was a single child; he didn't have any brothers so how can this guy be my _uncle._

"My dad was a single child" I say "you can't be my uncle" I spit the last word, thinking that he is trying to play some stupid prank on the girl whose dad died. I get up and leave Haymitch and Peeta sitting in the sand.

He can't be my uncle. There is no way.

I walk over to the group who are whispering and I can only guess its about me.

"Why does Haymitch look like the saw a ghost?" asks Gale and I turn to face Haymitch who is still sitting in the sand, his mouth slightly parted and his eyes wide. He is resting his head in his hands and his hair is everywhere.

"don't ask me, can we just get going to this island" I say coldly, grabbing one of the paddles off the beach and heading towards out kayaks

"umm… Katniss, we aren't going, it isn't safe enough" Johanna says to me hesitantly, probably sensing the shit mood that Haymitch has put me into.

"you don't look like a person who lets safety get in your way" I say to Johanna over my shoulder, not bothering to stop and look at her. I grab the strap of mine and Peeta's kayak tightly and pull it towards the water, struggling with the weight of the kayak but managing to carry it by myself.

"I'm not missing out on enjoying myself because of some drunk" I say, sliding into the kayak cautiously, trying to assure that I won't fall into the water and make a fool of myself.

"What the fuck are you guys doing, get in your kayaks already" someone shouts from the left of me and I look to see Haymitch in one of the kayaks in the water, staring at the others blankly, waiting for them to follow his instructions.

"why are you coming" I spit at him.

"Because I'm your coordinator and your uncle, whether you like it or not sweetheart! And I'm not going to let you kill yourself trying to kayak to an island" he says, staring at me with his steeling grey eyes. Now that I think of it, he looks like my dad, his skin and eyes are the exact same colour and he has the same blondish-brown hair.

"whatever" I mutter, confused by the situation I'm in now. Is he _really_ my uncle? How could he be my uncle though? My dad was a single child… unless that's just what he told me. I pulled from my train of thought as the Kayak I'm sitting on sways a little, I look up and see Peeta climbing into his seat in front of me. Once he is in and steady, he turns and faces me with a worried smile on his face.

"ready?" he asks me and I nod shyly. I swing my arms and begin to paddle out into the deeper water and fall into sync with Peeta. I begin to wonder what Haymitch was talking about. I didn't even think to let him explain himself and now I'm left pondering what he meant by 'I'm your uncle… in a way'. What did he mean by 'in a way'? I sigh frustrated by my cowardly way of running away.

"penny for your thoughts?" Peeta's voice breaks me from my thoughts and makes me aware of his presence again. He is looking over his shoulder at me with a tight smile, that looks forced.

"What did Haymitch mean?" I ask, digging the paddle into the water creating a large ripple of water.

"I wish I knew" Peeta whispers and I stop paddling and stare at the way his muscles bulge under his white shirt as he paddles steadily through the water. His hair blows in the wind and looks like waves splashing. I continue to evaluate his body carefully from the small amount of skin exposed where his shirt doesn't meet his pants on his back to the way the veins in his neck become visible under his skin with each stroke of the paddle. Suddenly Peeta swiftly moves his paddle and flicks the water up to my face and begins to laugh as I wipe the water from my face with my hands.

"quit staring at me and get back to work" Peeta says and I feel something in my stomach twist as I register that he saw me inspecting his muscular body. The heat flows up into my cheeks. I pick up the paddle from its position in my lap and lightly hit him on the pack of the head with it. He spins around and stares at me before laughing loudly, the sound is amazing; deep and husky but still comforting and joyful. I give him a quick smile before my gaze falls back to the water that floats around the kayak. Peeta splashes me again, unexpectedly. I look up at him with confusion and he smirks.

"You still aren't paddling" he says while chuckling a little

"hey! Neither are you!" I shout back at him jokingly while flicking my paddle and splashing him with water.

"Because I'm telling you to get back to work" He says, splashing me with even more force. I splash him back and it becomes a full-fledged water fight. The movement of our bodies begins to cause the kayak to rock as we swing out arms widely trying to splash each other. Before I know it I'm submerged in the cooling salt water that glistens as the sun beams down on it from above. I swim to the surface and begin to laugh at the sight of our over turned kayak and a soaking wet Peeta. He grins at me in a goofy way and I splash him.

"you have to fix this now!" I say to him, clinging to the kayak to help me stay afloat in the deep water. We are about half way to district 12, everyone else is a bit further behind but I can hear their faint laughing; probably at us.

My phone.

The thought pops into my head.

Shit. My bag.

"Peeta! Where did you put my bag?" I ask him frantically.

"don't worry, I put it in the waterproof container on Haymitch's kayak" he says calmly. He climbs onto the kayak and easily flips it over so it's the right way up.

"ladies first" he says, holding the kayak firmly for me. I smirk at him.

"then shouldn't _you_ be getting on?" I ask him and he rolls his eyes.

"ha ha!" he flat plans "very funny, now get on" he says. I awkwardly try to climb onto the kayak. My first attempt fails and I end up back in the water with Peeta laughing at me.

"shut up! You're meant to help me not laugh!" I say to him, swimming back to the kayak to try and get on again. This time I succeed, not without looking like a fish out of water though. Once I'm on the kayak Peeta hands me the 2 paddles and then tells me to try and balance the kayak as he gets on. Even though Peeta is a lot heavier than me, he makes the task seem so easy; getting on in his first attempt without looking like a stupid whale like I did. After a few moments of arranging ourselves we start paddling again, everyone else has caught up with us, Annie keeps giving me looks that I can't read, Gale looks pissed, Johanna looks bored and Finnick looks tired. To be honest it looks like me and Peeta are the only people truly enjoying this trip.


	23. A lot

**Okay guys… here is chapter 23! I like this chapter… Katniss admits something in this chapter but I won't ruin the surprise! Hope you enjoy… PLEASEEE leave a review! Happy reading :)**

**23 – A lot**

Annie POV

How can she be so oblivious to her own god damn feelings?! I know that she likes Peeta, she has been smiling and laughing, joking around even; things she hasn't done in a long time. He brings out a better Katniss; she is just too naïve to notice it… or she knows how she feels about him but is scared to admit it to herself.

"Annie, what are you doing? We are here!" Finnick's voice says and I am pulled from my thoughts. I blink a few times to clear my head.

"Um… sorry what" I say as the tantalizing scent of salt and coconuts takes over me. A soft, tingling breeze blows against my body; a relief from the furious rays the sun is beaming down on me. The beauty of the scene in front of me takes my breath away as I take it all in. There is a long sandy beach spreading for as far as the eye can see with mesmerising shells scattered along its shore line. The beach is lined by large palm trees with small spacing between them; they stand like a large wall blocking you from entering the cryptic tropics beyond it. The sound of strange birds chirping melodies loudly fills the salty air. You can see the peeks of 2 mountains braking from the tree line and making an escape for the sky. This place is amazing.

"Oh my god" I breath. Staring into the forest, willing myself to look away but something about the islands beauty has a grasp at me, holding my gaze and not letting go.

"You might want to get out of the kayak before you wash away" Katniss jokes, breaking me from the trance that the islands beauty has put me under. I stare down and notice that I'm still sitting in my kayak with the paddle on my lap, I look back up; everyone else is out of their kayaks and have pulled them up high on the sandy shore, leaving a trail through the sand behind them. I giggle quietly, embarrassed that I was so distracted.

"sorry" I mumble as I stumble out of the kayak and into the lapping water that wraps around my ankles. "this place is beautiful" I say, explaining my absent mind.

"just like you" Finnick says, tapping my nose lightly. I feel my cheeks heat up even more; if that is even possible in this heat.

"stop flirting and pull up the kayak" I order him and he chuckles.

"yes ma'am" he says firmly, giving me a sault as if he were a solider. Johanna and Katniss rolls her eyes but I think it was cute. Finnick grabs the kayak and pulls it up the beach, placing it beside the other ones crowding the empty beach.

"this place is pretty cool" Gale says as he looks at the deep forest that conceals the islands secrets.

"it really is" Johanna says in awe, standing beside Gale as they stare at the beauty that surrounds us.

"Imagine all the animals we could hunt in there, Katniss" Gales says, glancing over his shoulder at Katniss with a smirk, she smiles back wearily; like she is worried.

"Hunt? You guys hunt?" Peeta aims the question at Katniss but Gale answers quickly, walking over to Katniss and wrapping his arm around his shoulder tightly, she drops her gaze to her feet and she looks uncomfortable.

"Katniss and I have hunted since we were 10, haven't we Catnip!" Gale says happily with a hint of proudness coming through his words; like having hunted with Katniss was a trophy or something.

"Really?" Peeta asks, not looking as surprised as I thought he would be.

"Umm… yeah. A little. I only did it when food was short for Prim" Katniss mumbles as if she was ashamed of it. Since when has Katniss been ashamed of hunting?

"You hunted all the time! It might have been because food was short regularly but you still loved it!" Gale says enthusiastically, Katniss pushes Gales arm off of her harshly and stomps off from us; heading in the direction of the dense tropic forest.

"What was that about?" Gale asks confused but Katniss' sudden actions. I know what is about. It was about Peeta. She felt ashamed that she had to hunt just to feed her little sister and she didn't want Peeta to know. But gale, being obnoxious Gale, just told him. I sigh and roll my eyes at gale.

"You don't know when to shut up, do you?" I tell him and chase after Katniss just as she breaks away into the tropics that could contain any amount of vicious animals, ready to tear her heart out. Gale and Peeta begin to follow her but I stop them.

"You guys should stay here. Let me talk to her" I say to them firmly and they both freeze.

"Katniss! Wait! Don't go in there!" I shout to her as I reach the palm trees that Katniss just walked through. My breathing becomes heavy as I step into the tropics and everything darkens a little. Small glistening streams of light shine through the cracks in the canopy of leaves above my head, tangled vines hang down from trees and there are radiant flowers blooming everywhere. Katniss is standing right in front of me, staring at me with her grey eyes that are filled with anger and embarrassment.

"Katniss, he doesn't care! He doesn't care that you need to hunt for food! Peeta isn't that kind of person; he won't think of you any less!" I tell her. Her face contorts a little and then she breaks down into sobs, falling into the moist dirk below her feet and covering her face with her hands. I rush over to her and kneel down beside her.

"Shhh, Katniss. It's all right! Shhh" I coo to her, trying as hard as I can to comfort and calm her.

"He's a middle class, Annie! Of course he would care that I am so poor that I can't get food!" she croaks in between her sobs.

"Katniss… you know Peeta isn't like that!" I say, putting my hands on her cheeks and making her look at me. "You know it Katniss, you just have to admit it" I whisper.

"I know" she whispers so quietly, I begin to double-guess weather I actually heard it. Those 2 simple words mean so much in this incident. _I know._

"I know how I feel about him" Katniss whispers and I know that my smile is like the size of the moon. I pull her into a tight hug and squeal.

"I know you would realise!" I scream at her and she laughs a little but then her face drops.

"What if he doesn't like me, Annie" she says to me, sadness seeping its way into every one of her words. "What if what I feel for him isn't the same for him?" She whispers as she fidgets with her fingernails.

"Katniss, what do you feel for him?" I ask her, keeping my voice quiet in case the boys can hear what I'm saying.

"I don't know, I just know I like him… a lot. Whenever he is around, I feel happy and better about myself, I feel comfortable but flustered at the same time. I can talk with him easily, but I also stumble on my words. I get nervous and get these tingling sensations throughout my body when he touches me and… I don't know. I just really like him, Annie. Am I crazy?" She explains to me and I can't help but laugh a little at her question.

"Are you crazy? Of course you are! You love him, Katniss!" I say to her excited. Her face crumples into a frown and she scowls at me.

"I don't _love_ him I just _like _him… a lot" She says, her cheeks flushing bright red.

"You know you're blushing Katniss, you never blush… well until you met Peeta" I say, giggling at her reaction to anything _Peeta._

"Shut up!" she squeals, pushing me lightly.

"Come here" I say "give me a hug". She leans in and wraps her arms around my neck, pulling me into a tight hug. We sit there for a few moments as Katniss' sobs quieten.

"I know about you and Finnick" Katniss says, breaking the comfortable silence that had settled in between us. I freeze at her words. What does she _know?_ I pull back from her grasp and look at her.

"What do you _know_, Katniss Everdeen" I say, looking her in the eye and smirking.

"You like him… a lot. Little Miss Annie Cresta is in _loveee" _she sing songs and I push her lightly.

"Just as you said… I'm not in_ love_ I just _like_ him…. A lot" I say mimicking her voice. She laughs and shoves me.

"Come on! We better get back to them before they think we got eaten by lions" I say, pulling myself from the ground and back onto my feet and dusting off the dirt that has stuck to my knees.

"Annie, lions don't live in tropics" Katniss says, laughing hysterically like I just said something really stupid. Which I did. I guess.

"whatever, let's go!" I say, pulling her up from the dirt and pulling her back towards the beach.


	24. Are You Serious?

**Sorry I didn't post last night… was at another party! :) Here is chapter 24! I know this story is getting a little mish-mash but I am trying to pull it together in the next few chapters! Anyway happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH24 – Are You Serious**

Peeta POV

I stand beside Gale's tall frame awkwardly.

"What the fuck!" Gale mumbles, spinning around and pacing over to the kayaks. I stand there awkwardly watching the place where Annie and Katniss ran into the forest.

"They might be in there for a while, peet! Come on, we are going for a swim!" Finnick shouts over to me from the kayaks. I peel my eyes from the tropics and turn to see Finnick beckoning me over.

"Why would they be a while?" I shout over to him as I begin to head to where he stands on the beach. Finnick begins to play with his hair and stares at the ground.

"Umm… I dunno they are probably going to talk about girl shit" He mumbles hesitantly and I can easily tell that he knows something. He looks up to me and smiles. I let the subject drop and pull off my shirt.

"Okay" I say as I begin to run to the water. I see Finnick out of the corner of my eye start to head to the water as well. I jump up and dive into the water, it glides past me like soft velvet. Swimming through the depths of the mystical water calms me. I look up and see the mystic light playing amid the flowing currents of the water. The blues and greens bouncing off each other and creating a surreal blur of beauty. I resurface in the water and float on my back, staring at the sky that is free of any clouds grasp.

"You and Katniss looked like you were having fun earlier" Finnick says and I turn around, standing in the waist depth water and stare at him. "You two looked happy" he adds and I raise my eyebrows at him.

"Is Finnick Odair talking about _feelings_" I mock him. He rolls his eyes at me and crosses his arms over his chest.

"Whatever" he mutters "Annie put me up to it" he says, splashing me as a small wave crashes around his chest.

"How _are_ you and Annie" I ask him and he freezes for a few seconds.

"Good" he says busying himself with the hem of his board shorts.

"Good… that's it?" I ask him, raising my eyebrows at him and he shrugs.

"We are guys, we aren't meant to be talking about this _feelings_ shit, especially me!" Finnick's says, shoving my shoulder lightly and laughing.

"Is Finnick scared to admit his _feelings_" I say, mimicking a baby's voice and pouting out my bottom lip.

"Shut up!" he says, splashing me

"Poor little baby Finnick, is scared to say he likes An-" I say but he cuts me off by jumping on my back and wrestling me into the water. When we resurface, Finnick is still clinging to my neck trying to push me back under but I easily keep myself above water.

"Finnick is scared to admit he likes who?" Someone's voice says from behind us… that someone is Johanna. Shit. We both spin around, Finnick still frozen with his arms wrapped around my neck.

"Erghh…. Umm…. Erghh" Finnick stutters then clears his throat. I shove his arms off my neck and he glares at me.

"Don't worry lover boy, I already know about your little thing for Annie" Johanna says shoving him. I let out a little laugh at the look on Finnick's face, His mouth is gaping open and his eyes are wide with shock while his eyebrows are knitted together and he is blushing a bright red.

"y-you what?! M-my thing for Annie?!" he stutters slowly, trying to get his mind around what Johanna just said. I try to stifle a laugh but it doesn't work and I end up laughing hysterically. Finnick is frozen with shock and he just stands there staring at Johanna.

"Finnick, I'm not stupid!" she shouts at him, laughing a little with a smug look on her face. I can't stop laughing and it rewards me with a glare from Finnick which makes me laugh even harder.

"You can't tell anyone!" Finnick shouts at Johanna, embarrassment evident through his words.

"You really think I would tell someone, fish boy?" Johanna says jokingly. Johanna, Finnick and I have been friends for so long that it is normal for us to be able to read each other. I met Johanna when she tried to sign up for wresting at school; she got turned down because it was a boys team but not without a fight, she was screaming at our coach that he is a 'sexist bastard' and needs to get some 'fucking respect'. We have been friends since then. Finnick on the other hand, I just became friends with, he was in most of my classes throughout high school and primary school.

The sound of faint giggling and laughing pulls me from the memories with my friends and back to reality. I turn around and see Annie on Katniss' shoulder as they run along the shore; they are both laughing and smiling. I sigh at the sight of Katniss; her hair is flying around as she runs with Annie on her back, she is flashing her white teeth and even from our here I can see her eyes glistening.

"And I also know about Peeta's thing for Katniss" Johanna says and I flip around to look at her.

"Who doesn't know about that?" Finnick says humorously and I scowl at him.

"Shut up" I hiss as I splash them. I slip around to see Katniss if heard, thankful that she is still laughing with Annie on her shoulders oblivious to our conversation.

"Don't worry, bread boy" Johanna says jokingly "Katniss can't hear me from out here" I roll my eyes at her and splash her again.

"Come out here!" Finnick shouts to Annie and Katniss, making me jump by the sudden loud noise. They both turn their heads out to our spot in the ocean and wave.

"Yeah, okay!" Annie shouts back to Finnick. She jogs to the kayaks and pulls off her clothes followed by Katniss and I can't help but stare as she removes her clothes revealing her perfectly body. I feel someone hit me on the back of the head and I let out a loud 'Oww!' while spinning around to see who hit me. Finnick is smirking at me and Johanna is giving me an 'are you serious' look. I shrug, while rubbing the back of my head where she hit me. I spin back around as Annie and Katniss come splashing into the water, her long legs striding out while she smiles and laughs with Annie. Once they are at about waist depth, Annie jumps onto Katniss' back, giving her cheek a small kiss as she does and Katniss smiles back to her as she carries her further through the water out to us.

"Hey guys" Katniss says, her breathing heavy from her laughter. Annie giggles and slides off Katniss' back into the water.

"Where's Gale?" Annie asks confused by his absence.

"He sort of stomped off into the forest after you left" Johanna says awkwardly. Katniss' eyes meet mine and I smile, asking her is she is alright through my eyes. She nods slightly and returns my smile, reassuring that she is alright.

"You guys wanna go for a surf?" Finnick asks happily.

"How are we meant to go for a surf, we haven't got boards?" I ask him and he chuckles at me.

"We towed them on the back of the kayaks, Peet! What were you so busy doing that you didn't notice?" Finnick says to me, smirking knowingly. I was too busy watching Katniss to be honest.

"Right" I say stupidly. Annie giggles and Katniss smirks while Johanna rolls her eyes at me. I look down into the water, avoiding their gazes.

"Yeah, I'm in" Johanna says, removing the attention from me and I sigh quietly in relief.

"Same!" Annie squeals, jumping up and down in the water.

"Yeah, I'll come" I say, looking up from the water and at Finnick "how many boards have we got?" I ask, doubting we could tow 5 boards on the kayaks.

"Yeah about that… we only have 3. Haymitch didn't want to have to tow one, and we only had 3 kayaks so…." Finnick says, trailing off at the end. Where is Haymitch? I think, I turn to search the beach and see him passed out under a palm tree and smirk.

"Okay, I'll come" Katniss says and my eyes flit back to her and see that she is smiling, happily "who's surfing with who?" she asks.

"Same as kayaks, minus Gale" Annie suggests and I light up at the thought of surfing with Katniss.

"Sounds good" I say, a bit too eagerly, which gets me an 'are you serious, Peeta' look from Johanna.

"Yeah, that's good" Katniss says, smiling at me and I smile back, we hold each other's eye contact for a while until Finnick clears his throat, ruining the moment.

"Let's get going then" He says and walks between Katniss and me, pushing us apart slightly which I roll my eyes to as I follow him. Katniss stifles a laugh and we all head into shore to get the boards.


	25. Invasion of Privacy

**Was so close to not getting this up tonight! Was at the beach with friends for ages and only got back now to find out my nana has been sent to the hospital because she is sick. Anyway…writing this helped me get my mind off of things so here it is chapter 25! Hope you enjoy reading… little drama in this chapter! Please leave a review! :)**

**CH25 – Invasion Of Privacy**

Katniss POV

I dive onto the board and look out to the crashing waves ahead of me, a sense of fear running through me. I gulp and look at Peeta who is standing in the waist depth water beside the board.

"Peeta, I can't surf" I tell him and look back at the large waves as they crash into the water like galloping horses making their way to shore. Peeta chuckles a little and my eyes dart to him in a scowl.

"Don't fucking laugh! I haven't been surfing for ages!" I say to him and he quietens his laugh.

"Okay… um I can come out with you?" he asks cautiously with a glint of hope shining in his perfectly blue eyes. I look out to roaring waves once again. It would be great to go surfing with Peeta but am I ready for it? "Only if you want" Peeta adds quickly, pulling me back to reality. I look back to him and see him smiling lightly at me. What the fuck. Let's do it.

"Yeah, okay" I say and smile up at him. His face breaks out into a huge smile and he laughs a little.

"Okay, so you want to go at the front or back of the board?" he asks me and I look down at the thin fibre glass board that I'm laying at.

"I'll go front" I say, sliding further up the front of the board. Peeta climbs onto the board behind me; lying down between my legs. I must admit it is a little awkward but whatever. I turn back and give him a small smile before looking back out to the horizon of smashing waves and beginning to paddle.

Once we are out past the break, Peeta sits up on the board so I do the same. My back is flush against his bare chest and I can feel his abs.

"You ready to catch a wave?" Peeta says from behind me and I turn to face him.

"As ready as I'll ever be" I say and he laughs a little before lying back down and paddling us around so we are facing the shore.

"Okay, so just paddle when I say so and then jump up or stay lying down" Peeta tells me and I decide now that I'm going to stay lying down. I turn my head to look back out to the horizon and see that Peeta is doing the same, concentration contorting his face. He looks back and smiles.

"Okay, paddle" he says and I look back to the shore and begin to paddle. I feel the wave push us, the force becoming stronger and stronger. Before I can register what is happening, Peeta is pushing up on his arms and jumping up onto his feet causing the board to wobble a little. I grip down on the sides of the fibre glass. Peeta applies weight onto his right leg and we turn a little, riding along the side of the wave. I feel a smile creep onto my face and my grip on the board weakens. This isn't that bad. Peeta bends over quickly and grabs my waist but before I can stop him, he pulls me up so I'm standing on the fibre glass, my legs positioned in a wide stance between his and my his body against mine; my back against his bare chest once again. After the shock of me surfing overwhelms me, I begin to feel excited. My smile lights up even further, making my cheeks hurt slightly.

"whoooooh!" I shout and Peeta chuckles from behind me. The wave begins to even out into the level of the water and the speed of our board slows down. I begin to become unsteady even with Peeta holding me still behind me. As the board slows I begin to wobble and I feel the board fling out from underneath me. I fall back, along with Peeta, into the water. I feel his arms wrap around me waist as we fall and I land on top of him into the cooling ocean. Peeta's arms unwrap from me and I resurface laughing loudly as I find me footing in the water. Peeta's head emerges from the water and he has a stupid grin on his face.

"Did you like it?" He asks me and I bob my head in a nod. He laughs and then pulls the leg rope, causing the board to tug towards us. "Wanna go for another?" Peeta asks me and I can see the excitement that he is trying to hide. I smirk

"Yes, come on" I say, jumping onto the board and waiting for him to get on himself.

**Time lapse**

"You're pretty good, you know!" Peeta says as he carries the board in. "you could probably go out by yourself now". I smile and my eyes connect with his blue ones, I drop my gaze quickly and blush.

"I like surfing with you" I mumble quietly and then hate myself for saying it. I can feel my blush darken and Peeta chuckles. I look up at him and scowl.

"I like surfing with you too" He says happily and smirks. "You're blushing a little" He points out and I punch his arm.

"So are you" I say and pick up my towel that is sitting amongst our other belongings and look up to him. His gaze drops quickly and I smirk.

"Don't worry, Peety. I won't bite" I joke in a baby's voice, pinching his cheeks lightly. He slaps my hand lightly and laughs.

"Shut up" he mutters, grabbing his towel and drying his hair with it. My phone rings and I ravage through my bag for it. I turn it on and it says 'one new message'. I swipe my finger and open up the messaging app.

**Prim: **Katniss! I just got back from the beach with Rory and he kissed me goodbye! OMG! Hav u kissed Peeta yet? Miss u xx

I stare at my phone, my mouth gaping. Prim had her first kiss with Rory Hawthorne! I begin to feel pissed, then angry, then scared, and then I just find it extremely funny. I begin laughing hysterically and Peeta looks at me with a 'what the hell is wrong with you' face and I laugh even harder. Once my laughing has calmed down enough I begin typing into my phone.

**Me:** HAHAHAHA! YAY! U 2 better not get up 2 anything stupid. R u going out now? And no. I hav not kissed Peeta. I went surfing with him tho :) on the same board! But I think I like him Prim… miss u 2 xx

I click send and look up at Peeta who still has his eyebrows raised at me. I giggle and tighten the grip on my phone.

"Who are you talking to?" He asks me, stepping closer. I step back and giggle some more.

"No one" I say and he smirks.

"No one, hey? What are you talking to no one about" he says, stepping closer to me again and I step back once more.

"About nothing" I say and he laughs.

"You're talking to no one about nothing" he says and then quickly lunges for my phone. He easily gets it because I was so shocked that I couldn't react quickly enough.

"No, no, no, no!" I say to him, he begins to run away with my phone and I chase him desperately

"No! You're not allowed to do that! Peeta! Give me my phone back!" I shout at him as he laughs. He stops suddenly and I think he is about to give my phone back.

"Okay you can have it back, I didn't read it, don't worry" he says giving me a wink. I go to snatch my phone from his hands but he quickly pulls it back and puts it high in the air. Him being around 3 or 4 inches taller than me makes it too high for me to be able to reach.

"Peeta! Give me my phone! You're not allowed to do this! It is invasion of my privacy!" I whine to him, crossing my arms over my chest and staring at him. He pouts out his bottom lip and pretends to be sad.

"Aww, poor Katniss!" he teases and I punch his arm softly.

"Peeta! Please!" I beg, looking into his beautiful blue eyes. They glisten in the sun and let out a sort of diamond looking colour, they looked so crystal clear that you could delve into his soul. The gold flecks shimmer; casting off like stardust and creating a look of fire smouldering in his eyes. His eyes have a certain undefinable spark to them. Alluring and mysterious. The mixture of colour makes his eyes look like deep mazes that someone could get so easily lost is; trapped in his gaze forever.

"If you want it, you have to get it" Peeta says, breaking me from the trance of his eyes. I huff and jump for the phone that he is dangling in the air. My fingers skim along it but I don't get a grasp on it. I land into the sand again and frown. If he reads that message; I'm fucked. I go to jump again but I'm quickly cut off by someone's soft lips on mine, I'm in shock at first. This was not what I expected but I can feel a smile form on my lips as I begin to kiss Peeta back. My eyes flutter shut and a ravaging feeling begins to build low in my stomach. My mouth moulds to his easily and I bite his bottom lip; asking for permission into his mouth. He opens it up acceptingly and I let my tongue run wild through his mouth. The feeling in my lower stomach grows; turning into more of a fire whereas earlier, it was just glowing embers. I explore his mouth and our tongues meet in the middle, twirling and spinning around each other as the kiss becomes more heated. Peeta twines his strong arm around my waist and pulls my in towards him; he still isn't wearing a shirt so I run my hand down his bare chest and wrapping the other through the short hair at the back of his neck. I pull away needing air and my eyes open. I look at Peeta who is smiling but panting loudly. I laugh a little but out of the corner of my eye I see something move behind Peeta. I focus on it and notice that it is gale. He is standing on the beach just staring at me and Peeta.

I want to say something to him but the words aren't forming. My mouth goes dry; like a dessert in the evening sun. I begin to make coughing and spluttering noises as my throat begins to close up. Peeta turns around to see what has startled me so much and he sees Gale, he looks back at me; his expression blank. I look over to Gale and I can see the anger, confusion and fire burning through his eyes, his posture is stiff.

"Gale!" I shout and I begin to walk to him but he quickly turns around and runs back into the tropics; disappearing into the darkness of the trees that hold so many dangers.

"GALE!" I shout again, running towards where he was standing just 2 seconds ago. "Gale!" I say quieter this time as I fall into the sand, tears streaming down my face.


	26. It Will Never Stop Hurting

**I was literally crying while writing this chapter it was really depressing. Anyway… I have begun to write another story but I won't post it until I feel confident with the story line… happy reading! Please leave a review with your thoughts :)**

**CH26 – It Will Never Stop Hurting**

Gale POV

They stand there, her lips mounted on his, her hand on his bare chest and wrapped in his hair. I want to run; run from the painful image in front of me but my body is frozen so I'm trapped here staring at the girl I love, kissing another guy. I see Katniss stiffen a little as she notices me standing here watching her kiss Peeta, her eyes go quickly from happiness and excitement to dread and fear at the sight of me. Katniss opens her mouth to speak, but even from where I stand I can hear the choking noises she's making. Peeta swings his head around, confusion written on his face until he sees me. I see sadness and annoyance flash through his eyes but he shakes it off and looks back to Katniss.

"GALE!" she shouts at me and my body becomes live again. I take off running back into the tropics. And I can hear her sobs as I run through the gap between the palm trees. I thrash through the thick leaves and plants as I make my way deeper into the heart of the tropics. The air is humid and hot and I can feel my breathing become heavier. The dark, uninviting tropics consuming everything around me, my mind rushing faster than my feet. Every step I take leads me further away from the horrible nightmare that consumed my day but takes me closer to the dangers that lurk these jungles.

I run for what seems like hours, trying to escape reality and disappear into this dense evergreen mixture of trees and vicious animals. I finally stop when I come across a small water spring peeking out from the moist, muddy ground. I sigh and slump down in the dirt and slide my feet into the earthy water. My mind is still running, spinning with the images of Katniss and Peeta kissing and old memories with Katniss.

Annie warned me about this, those so many years ago. She told me that Katniss didn't think of me the way I thought of her. She saw me as I brother. I should have stopped my feelings when Annie told me this; I should have looked for someone else. But how could I when Katniss was always there? She was always in my life and I would never just be able to forget about her. I pick up a large rock from beside me and ditch it at the stump of a thick tree wrapped in vines.

"Why am I so stupid?!" I shout loudly. I stand to my feet quickly and head over to the tree that I just threw a rock at. I look at it for a few moments before I take a swing at it. Clutching my hand into a fist and punching it hard. The pain sears through my hand and up my arm. I shout in pain but continue to throw fierce punching at the tree.

"Fuck you!" I shout loudly as I punch the tree, releasing the anger that is pounding in my head. "Fuck everything!" I shout. "Fuck Peeta, fuck Katniss, fuck the world!" I shout as I continue to punch the tree, ignoring the agonising pain that is sending tremors through my body.

"Why!?" I shout as my punches become weaker and my eyes begin to fill with tears. "Why was I so fucking stupid" I say as I collapse at the base of the tree, my knees pulled to my chest and the tears flow. Through my blurred vision I see red on my knuckles. I wipe my eyes and examine my hands; they are cut deeply and blood is pouring out of them, they have bad bruises covering the knuckles and cuts along my palm from where my nails dug it from my tight grip. I put my head against the tree as the pain begins to return and I shout in pain. I think I might have broken my hand because the pain is so severe. I crawl back over to the small spring and wash the deeps cuts in the cooling water. Once they are cleaned up I go back to the base of the tree and slump down on the ground, the pain still overwhelming my body. The tears begin to flow again and the pictures of Katniss and Peeta kissing return but I squeeze my eyes shut and bite my lip hard, drawing blood in an attempt to hold down my anger.

"You might wanna hold back on the lip biting, you're drawing blood" someone says and my eyes fly open and I see Johanna standing in front of me.

"What the hell are you doing out here?" I snap at her before groaning in pain.

"I was going hiking when I heard someone shouting; I quote 'fuck Peeta, fuck Katniss, fuck the world'. What did you do to your hands?" She asks and I glare at her narrowing my eyes.

"I was using a tree as a punching" I say squeezing my eyes shut again, as the pain continues to run through my body; making me light headed.

"So you were using a tree as a punching bag while shouting 'fuck Peeta, fuck Katniss, fuck the world'" Johanna asks raising an eyebrow at me. I look down at my damaged hands and sigh

"You watch the person you love get kissed then you will understand" I say quickly.

"I can one up you, I have had worse" Johanna says and I feel her slump down beside me.

"What can be worse than that?" I ask harshly, wishing she would leave me alone to endure my pain by myself.

"My life is a lot worse than that" Johanna says and I open my eyes to look at her. Johanna is staring at the dirt around her feet and I notice that her guard has faltered. I can see the pain slipping through her eyes, exposing the emotion that she locks away so safely. She looks up to me and I see sadness and loneliness overtaking her body.

"Try watching the person you love get sexually assaulted and then killed" she says solemnly and I freeze. I don't know if she actually said it or if the pain is making me imagine things. I open my mouth to say something but my mind can't conjure a reasonable sentence to respond to what she just said to me.

"I-I-I'm… I d-don't…. I'm sorry" I stutter as her eyes that are staring intently on me, glass over with tears. Her gaze on me doesn't falter as the tears begin to fall. After a few moments she finally looks away and quickly wipes her tears, sniffing a little and then repositioning herself in the dirt.

"Yeah well… now you can stop complaining about your heart break" She says firmly but I can still hear the pain and sadness edging her words. I clear my throat awkwardly.

"Yeah" I murmur. Johanna gets up from her spot next to me and my eyes dart to her.

"well I'm going to continue with my hike" she says, dusting her legs from dirt and then looks at me "you can umm… come with me if you want, otherwise you should head back to the beach, the others are worried and its pretty dangerous out here, especially with your hands" she says, indicating to the cuts and bruises. I watch her for a few moments as she shifts her weight and stares at me blankly and I begin to think she regretted telling me.

"You know I won't tell anyone" I say to her softly. Her eyes dart to the ground quickly and she shifts her weight again.

"Yeah, well you would be in shit if you did" she says and looks out into the trees around us; avoiding my gaze. I chuckle a little at her comment and continue to watch her but she denies me access to her eyes; darting them around our surroundings and never meeting mine.

"Talking can help" I say plainly and her eyes finally meet mine but they aren't filled with sadness or pain anymore but anger; fiery anger that pulls at her eyebrows and narrows her eyes.

"I don't want to talk about it, okay!" she spits at me and I begin to feel hurt. "Just because I told you about it doesn't mean your now my fucking councillor! I've had enough of them to last a life time!" She shouts and I drop my gaze.

"Sorry… it's just… whatever, we going hiking or what" I say flatly, standing from the dirt and looking at her. She rolls her eyes and then turns and begins to stomp through the plants.

I had wanted to know more about Johanna, about what she hid behind her hard exterior, what pain she had experienced in her life. I wanted to know more about her. But I fear knowing more about her now. I fear how painful her past was. I fear what she has had to experience in such a short lifetime. I fear Johanna.


	27. Girl Talk

**Thanks for all the reviews from everyone! I really don't know where I am going with this story so if anyone wants to suggest some ideas on what I should do please leave them in the reviews! Happy reading :)**

**CH27 – Girl Talk**

Annie POV

"Annie-Annie I need to talk to y-you" Katniss stutters and I notice that her eyes are puffy like hot ear balloons and are red. I look back and Finnick and he gives me a approving nod, I turn back to Katniss and I can see that she is sad and scared. I look over her shoulder and see Peeta who looks sad and pissed.

"Um… yeah, sure" I say and she grabs my hand and begins to pull me along the beach. I look back at Peeta and Finnick and see that they are talking quietly. Once we are a good distance from the guys Katniss lets go of her tight grip on my arm but continues to walk along the beach. I stay up with her fast past and watch her carefully.

"Katniss, what happened?" I ask her and she sniffs a little, then looks me in the eye and stops.

"Gale saw us" She says and tears begin to escape her eyes "Gale saw me and Peeta kiss and he got mad and then he ran off and now I don't know what to do because I like Peeta but I like Gale, but Gale is like my brother but I don't know, Annie! I don't know what to do" she gushes, her voice cracking at the end as she covers her face with her hands and sobs.

"Oh, Katniss" I say, pulling her into a soft hug. "It's all right, we will sort this out" I say, drawing circles on her back. I calm her down a little and then grab her cheeks with my hands so she looks at me.

"Come on, come here" I say pulling her down into the sand beside me. We are a good kilometre from the guys so there is no way they will be able to hear what we say.

"Okay, explain what happened" I say and she shifts so that she is facing me. She begins to fiddle with her fingernails and then takes a shaky breath.

"my and Peeta came in from surfing and Prim texted me saying her and Rory kissed" she says and chuckles a little "she also asked if I had kissed Peeta and texted her back saying no, but I went surfing with him and that I think I like him" she says and looks up to me from her hands, smiling a little but then looking back down at her hands. "then Peeta asked who I was talking to and I say no one so he stole my phone and ran away with it, I chased him then he stopped and began teasing me with the phone, he held it too high for me to reach and I jumped for it but he kissed me and I kissed him back… and it was so good Annie!" She tells me and I laugh. "But then Gale saw us and then he ran away and Peeta got annoyed because I chased after him and I don't know what to do!" She finishes, looking back up to me.

"Okay" I say, taking in what she just told me. "You know that gale has feelings for you" I state and she nods. I sigh "do you have feelings for Gale?" I ask her and she looks up at me and I can see fear and sorriness on her face.

"I love him, Annie… but I love him as a brother" she says sadly.

"But you like Peeta, you like Peeta not like a brother?" I ask her and she nods, a small smile shadowing the line of her lips.

"I do" she says simply.

"You know Gale likes Johanna" I tell her and I can see shock on her face.

"But I thought Gale had feelings for me?" she asks, confused.

"He loves you Katniss, but he has a crush on Johanna" I say she nods and looks down at her hands again.

"So what am I meant to do?" she asks me and I smirk.

"Get Gale and Johanna together" I tell her and she quickly stands up.

"What?!" she shouts and I laugh a little.

"Katniss think about it, if Gale is with Johanna, then you and Peeta can be together" I tell her and her shock dilutes a little and I can see that she is thinking.

"I understand, but how do you just forget that you love someone?" she asks me and I know that she is asking if gales feelings towards her will ever go away.

"He won't, Gale won't forget that he loves you" I whisper. "You can't forget, but he can move on" I add and she sighs.

"Okay" she says and I look at her in the eye.

"I can't believe you kissed Peeta before I kissed Finnick!" I say, lightening the mood a little, she lets out a laugh.

"Well you better catch up with me soon" Katniss says jokingly.

"Oh, don't worry, Finnick is going to be all over me soon" I say and Katniss scrunches up her face in disgust.

"Eww! Too much, Annie" Katniss says, sticking her tongue out like she is vomiting and I crack up laughing.

"it's going to be you and Peeta as well" I say and she blushes. Her cheeks looks like they are on fire, they go such a dark shade of red.

"Whatever, come on, I need to get you and Finnick together" Katniss says and pulls me up. We walk back to the guys and notice that they are in a conversation.

"You wanna have some fun?" Katniss asks me and I nod with a smirk on my face. She picks up a bailing bucket from one of the kayaks and walks to the water, I do the same and we fill the buckets with water.

"You ready?" Katniss asks me and I laugh and nod. We sneak up behind the guys who haven't noticed us and Katniss puts up 3 fingers, then 2 and on 1 we dump the water all over them. Finnick lets out a loud scream and Peeta shouts 'what the fuck!' me and Katniss run away as the boys notice it was us and begin to chase us around the beach. Me and Katniss are laughing hysterically and I nearly trip on countless occasions.

"Annie Cresta, you ruined my hair!" Finnick shouts from just behind me and I giggle loudly.

"Poor Finnick!" I say back to him just before he wraps him arms around my waist and catches me.

"And now I have caught you! So what should I do?" He asks, with a stupid grin on his face. I have no idea where Peeta and Katniss have gone and I can't hear them anymore; probably gone off somewhere to make out.

"I dunno" I say and try and wiggle out of his grip but it is hopeless.

"I have an idea" Finnick says and begins to lean in towards me.

"HEY GUYS!" Peeta shouts, popping up right beside us; his face so close to mine and Finnick's. I scream and Finnick begins to laugh hysterically. I was just about to kiss Finnick! Damn you Peeta! I begin to hit Peeta on the chest repetitively and he laughs.

"You scared the shit out of me, Peeta!" I shout at him and he laughs even more. I can hear Katniss laughing behind me and I turn to look at her.

"Love you, Annie" she says, jokingly. I roll my eyes at her and turn towards our stuff and stomp over to it. I slump down on my towel and sigh loudly.

"I will give you another chance before we go back, Annie" Katniss whispers into my ear as she comes and sits beside me, I nod and she smile. We sit there in silence for a few minutes so I turn to Katniss and see what she is doing. Her face is crumpled in concentration and she looks like she is doing some thinking.

"What ya thinking?" I ask her and she looks up to me.

"Um… just about what Haymitch said" she says, looking down at her hands. "What did he mean?" she asks me. I see Haymitch over Katniss' shoulder then look back to her.

"Why don't you go ask him?" I say and she looks up to me with her eyebrows furrowed together. I nod over her shoulder and she turns around to see what I'm indicating to. She spots Haymitch and turns back around to me.

"Should I really?" she asks me and I nod.

"If you want an answer" I tell her and she looks back down to her hands.

"Okay" she says and then stands and begins to walk towards Haymitch.


	28. Mistakes

**chapter 29 is here... havent really got anything to say so happy reading and please leave a review! Really need some feedback :)**

**CH28 – Mistakes**

Katniss POV

I cough awkwardly, trying to get Haymitch's attention as he lays in the sand facing his back to me. He doesn't respond and I roll my eyes.

"Haymitch" I say, annoyed that he is ignoring me, but again he ignores me.

"Haymitch!" I say louder and I hear him grunt. I furrow my eyes together and walk around and see that his eyes are closed. Fuck. He is passed out.

"Get up, you lazy, fat drunk!" I shout at him as I kick his stomach lightly. He grunts again but doesn't wake. I sigh and search the beach. My eyes find a red object sitting beside the kayaks in the sand and I realise it is one of the bailing buckets. A smirk creeps onto my mouth and I walk through the sand, over to it. I pick it up, fill it with sea water and walk back to Haymitch, in his past out state. I steady my breathing and then dump the water on him. He shouts loudly and wails his hands around in the air as if the air was attacking him.

"What the fuck was that for, sweetheart?" He shouts at me, once he has grasp on reality.

"You weren't waking up" I state plainly, taking a sit in the dry sand beside him. He moans and looks at me.

"Come to get me to explain my story to you, hey?" he asks me in an exasperated voice and I roll my eyes.

"What would you expect; you told me you were my fucking uncle?" I tell him and he sighs.

"Yeah, whatever, just get on with it" he says and I narrow my eyes at him, giving him a warning look.

"I just want to know what the fuck you mean… my dad was a single child? You _can't _be my uncle" I say and he looks me in the eye, his grey eyes delving into me with all seriousness.

"Look, sometimes people have to lie; they have to lie to protect the ones they love. Your dad lied" he states and I continue to stare at him, urging him to continue with what he has begun to tell me. Once Haymitch realises that I haven't got anything to say to his statement he takes a deep breath and continues.

"Our parents were crazy, our mother tried to kill our father because he was abusive. Her attempt failed and our father ran away with me and your dad. We knew we couldn't stay with him because he was dangerous to us so we ran away, together. But when your 13 years old and you run away from your only parent, it becomes hard to live. We began to steal for survival, starting with small things like a packet of chips at a deli but eventually we committed a bank robbery" Haymitch explains to me quickly. My brain try's to process everything he is saying but it is like a frozen computer, nothing is working, it just sits there and takes in what you are trying to do but doesn't respond. He looks at me and sees my blank facial expression and then continues.

"But we got caught, we were 18 at the time and they put us in jail. After about a month in jail we got told by one of the officers that our father was here to visit us, he came in and told us that he was going to take us home, to a new house, with his new girlfriend. He told us he had changed and that we were safe now. We knew it was a lie, we knew it was _all_ a lie. He told us that he was going to get us a better lawyer and get us out." Haymitch explains to me, his speed; slower, allowing time for my spinning head to at least function a little. He looks up to me and I can actually see the tears building in the corners of his eyes. I can read the pain that is covering his face and it makes my heart drop to my stomach.

"we knew we weren't safe there, so we talked to the lawyer we already had and he arranged a court date one week later, were the judge let us leave, but we had curfew. As soon as we were out, we knew we couldn't stay here, not with our dad around and we knew that…" he says and the tears actually spill over and he begins to cry.

"We knew that we would have to leave each other. It would give less chance for our dad to find us" he says and the tears continue to trickle from his eyes as he stares at the bottle that is in his hand.

"Haymitch, you don't have to tell me more, if you don't-" I start but he cuts me off, aggressively.

"You fucking deserve to know this shit so shut up" he says, darting his eyes up to me and then back down to the bottle in his hand. I sigh and he begins to continue.

"So we got new names, new stories and left each other" he says and takes a shaky breath before continuing on with his story.

"I left my baby brother when I should of stayed with him and took care of him and protected him!" he says, his voice breaking as he begins to let loud sobs tremor through his body.

"it's all right Haymitch, you were trying to protect him" I tell him softly and he darts his eyes up to me.

"I still left him in this shitty world to fend for himself. He went off and created a new life, finding your mom and having kids. Whereas I turned into a sad drunk for leaving my younger brother" he says and I feel an urge to comfort him better than what I'm doing. I lean forward and give him an awkward hug that he clings to as the tears pour from his eyes.

"Katniss, I did something that I shouldn't of done!" he cry's into my shoulder and I can feel the tears build in my own eyes at the broken state of my uncle, even if I have only known of him for a few hours.

"Don't worry, you kept my dad safe as good as you could" I tell him and he shakes his head against my shoulder.

"No, not that" he says and pulls back from my shoulder. "I-I… I r-rap….. I raped a girl" he says and sobs begin to crash through his body, His voice making exasperated chocking noises as he tries to take in air. I sit there paralysed though. Not being able to move as the words repeat in my head over and over again. I raped a girl. I hear the words being said by Haymitch and slowly my mind morphs the sound to my father repeating the words over and over. I raped a girl. I see splotches in front of my eyes and my breath begins to become short, sharp, croaky breaths.

"y-you r-raped….. a girl?" I say and the words come out more of a question than a statement and I begin to see pictures of a young girl in a dark ally, screaming and crying with Haymitch on top of her, grinning at her evilly as he wipes a loose hair behind her ear. My mind screams for me to run from this man, this man that would take a poor innocent girl and do such a terrible, revolting thing and take her innocence from her. The thought makes my stomach churn in nauseating ways. He looks me in the eyes and those grey eyes that I was once sorry for now fill me with anger and revolt.

"I wish I could undo it, I wish that it never happened and that my life didn't get so miserable that I turned to something as foul as that. But they are just wishes, because I did do it and I'm responsible for it" He says but my stomach still sits uncomfortably inside me at the fact that I'm sitting so close to this man.

"You can't blame your past for something so wicked as raping a girl!" I shout as him and he bows his head understandingly "sitting this close to you is making me sick! How can you live with yourself after you did something so foul and loathsome?" I shout and I see him wince at my words. After a few moments of silence he finally speaks up.

"I don't. Why do you think I drink day in and day out? To forget the fact that I destroyed a young girl's life!" he says to me, loudly and once again I begin to feel sorry for this man, but those feelings of sorriness are fighting a war against anger and disrespect.

"You know, the last time I saw my brother was a day after I raped the girl…" he says softer, sending a nervous glance to me and then back to his bottle. "I found out that he was in the neighbourhood from an old friend and went to him to seek help. I explained everything to him and you know what he said… he said 'you're a sickening bastard but pain can make you do things you regret and you will always be my brother', that was the day he told me he had cancer" he says softly and sends the bottle in his hand flying towards a tree in anger. It pounds against the tree and explains, clear liquid pouring onto the ground.

"The last thing he told me was 'life is challenging, life is painful, but we always have each other, brother' and I never visited him after, scared to see him dyeing. I didn't want to say good bye! I should never have left him so many years ago! And now he is dead and now we don't have each other because he is fucking dead!" he shouts, looking directly at me and I feel the tears build in my eyes and a lump grow in my throat as I hold in the painful sobs that are wracking my body.

"And now I'm here…" he says softly, looking down at himself and sighing. "a fucking rapist, with a dead brother, a niece he never met and a bottle in his hand 24/7 to forget the pain of my past" he swallows and then looks back up to me, his eyes filled with more pain than I can decipher.

"Now don't you go pitying me!" he says firmly, his voice suddenly a lot more steady. "I made those choices in life, sure not the first few but the rest were mine, I decided to rob those places, I decided to leave your dad, I decided to become a drunk, I decided to rape that girl, I decided to never see your dad again. I was the one that decided to make those _shitty_ choices in life" He says solemnly. I think over how to respond for a while, what to tell this man who just admitted so much to me. I mule over my options and the silence between us becomes thick and tense.

"Haymitch…" I start, looking up at him and sighing "you're a sickening bastard but pain can make you do things you regret and you will always be my uncle" I say, pulling him into a hug that is a bit less awkward and a lot more reassuring. He sighs loudly before returning the hug whispering in my ear.

"Thankyou, sweetheart" he says softly.


	29. Love Triangle

**Chapter 29… im seriously running out of things to say in my authors note beside please leave a review because they make me so happy and I love getting feedback towards what im doing good and bad! Anyway happy reading :)**

**CH29 – Love Triangle **

Peeta POV

She is sitting there, talking to Haymitch. Her face scrunched up in scrutiny but instead of looking disgusted she looks cute. The way the lines on her forehead appear and her lips pucker out a little. I can see her emotions flicking and changing quickly as Haymitch explains something to her. I sigh and look back out to the water, trying to distract myself from Katniss.

From the touch of her warm hands through my hair.

From the feel of her soft, slightly cracked lips on mine, moulding perfectly to my mouth.

From the look of fire and burning passion blazing in her absolutely beautiful grey eyes that spark when the sun light hits them.

But then my mind begins to travel to things I don't want to remember.

Like the look of fear and sorriness in her eyes when Gale saw us kissing.

Or the way she reacted, screaming his name and shouting out to him as if she were cheating on him.

I shake my head and sigh again. The only thing that is going to rid my thoughts of Katniss is drawing, maybe. I get up and walk to my bag, pulling out the small sketch book and an old pencil that I have been using for almost a year. I slump back down into the grainy sand and look out to the water and back down to my paper. I begin to let my hands glide over the soft, velvet-like paper and watch as the outline of the view in front of me comes to life on the paper slowly. It may have been hours until I realised something wasn't right about the view, there was something or someone in the middle and as my hands continue to add shading and lining I began to make out what it was. It was a picture of the crashing ocean and the sun setting onto the swaying horizon. There is someone standing in front of the water; the main focus of the drawing and it is Katniss.

She is wearing a small flower behind her ear and a short sundress. She has that amazing, glistening smile beaming on her face and her eyes are shining with a look of happiness. I slam the sketchbook shut in anger that no matter what, my mind won't leave the thought of the brown-haired, grey-eyed girl who makes me feel lightheaded and stupid.

"What ya drawing, Peet" someone says and I already know it is Finnick. I look up at him and I guess I was scowling because he backs up slightly and puts his hands up in surrender.

"Whoa… someone is a little pissed" he says and I roll my eyes and look back to the water.

"You don't say" I mutter and Finnick snickers and then sits down beside me.

"What's up in that mind of yours, Peeta?" Finnick asks and I sigh loudly. Katniss is. Katniss is the only thing in my mind and it is beginning to annoy me, especially after she ran off after Gale. Doesn't she not even want us? Does she not feel what is going on between us? Or is it that she already has feelings for Gale?

"Peeta" Finnick says, waving his hand in front of me. I jump a little them look back to him, he smirks.

"Is someone thinking of a certain brunette?" Finnick jokes and I roll my eyes.

"Yeah I am and it is beginning to piss me off" I snap and his face drops

"But I thought you liked her? And Annie did tell me that you guys kissed" He says. I faced him shocked. Annie knows and so does he. Well I guess it wasn't going to stay a secret for long.

"Yeah, we did. But Gale saw us and she went chasing off after him so now I have no idea where we stand" I mumble and Finnick sighs.

"Aaahhh… The little old love triangle" he says, smiling at me like it is nothing. "You see my friend; love triangles have been around since the beginning of humanity. They start with 3 people falling for each other and one of the people needing to make a decision between the other 2" he explains as if I was a child.

"No shit Sherlock" I groan and he chuckles a little.

"they aren't a fun thing to be part of but might I say that Annie tells me a certain girl has already made her decision" Finnick says and the hairs on the back of my neck raise as the words repeat in my head.

"W-w-what?" I stutter and he laughs lightly.

"You heard what I said" Finnick says simply and I feel my world begin to shatter. Of course. I should have known. She chose gale.

"Well just put me out of my misery and say It" I snap at him but he doesn't lose his smile.

"Well that better not be your response when she tells you that you're the one" he says and I choke on air.

"What are you talking about?" I manage to spit out after a few moments of regaining normal breathing.

"I'm talking about Katniss choosing you over Gale" Finnick says and with that he stands and walks away. Leaving me sitting in the sand processing what the fuck he just told me. I open up my sketch book again and stare at the picture of the pretty girl standing in front of the ocean that is downgraded by the picture of the girl. I sigh as I look over the picture I had drawn only moments ago.

**Time Lapse**

I'm sitting beside Finnick on my beach towel. Beside him Annie is laying on her back tanning and I notice the small little smiles she gives Finnick every now and again from under her sunglasses. Beside Annie, Katniss is lying on her front tanning. She has her earphones in and her face is covered by her arms. She isn't even acknowledging that she is sitting with us, let alone making conversation. Johanna hasn't come back from her hike yet and neither has Gale from his fit of rage after he saw me and Katniss.

"Finnick…" Annie says and I can hear the smile in her voice. "Will you help me put some sunscreen on?" she asks, turning onto her front and handing him a bottle of sunscreen. Finnick looks at me and a stupid grin grows on his face and I laugh a little. He crawls over to Annie and kneels beside her. I laugh and then look back out to the ocean. After a few moments I hear Annie's giggles and I look back to see Finnick tickling her. I look to Katniss and notice that she is looking at them as well. We both take it as our cue to leave.

"I'm going out for a surf" I say, getting up and brushing sand off my board shorts. I shoot Katniss a look and I can tell that she is mulling over the different excuses she can use to get out of there as well.

"Mind if I join?" Katniss asks me and to be honest, I was completely shocked by it, but then Finnick's words flow into my mind _I'm talking about Katniss choosing you over Gale._

"Umm… yeah, sure" I say and she gets up from her towel and stands beside me.

"See you guys" I say to Finnick and Annie but neither of them responds; too wrapped up in each other to notice. I laugh and begin to walk through the sand with Katniss to where the surf boards lay, high on the beach.


	30. Worthless

**Don't really like this chapter… but it will have to do, someone please give me some ideas on where to take this story because im completely lost! Anyway have fun readying and pleaseee leave a review! :)**

**CH30 – Worthless**

Annie POV

His hands travel up my back and then back down as he rubs in the sunscreen.

"That tickles" I tell him and he laughs.

"Is Ms. Cresta ticklish?" Finnick asks me and I shake my head.

"Nope!" I tell him and a little giggles escapes my lips.

"Well I guess it wouldn't matter if I did this!" he says, tickling the side of my stomach. I squirm and giggle trying to escape his grasp on me but it is futile.

"I'm going to go for a surf" I hear Peeta say but I'm too concentrated on Finnick to acknowledge him. But I do hear Katniss' next words loud and clear.

"Mind if I join you?" she asks and I look up at Finnick and give him a small smirk, we are both trying to get Katniss and Peeta together and I think it is working. I don't move until I hear Peeta's response.

"Umm… yeah, sure" Peeta says and I relax. I turn my attention back to Finnick and he begins tickling me again. I try to escape once more but again I fail. I think I hear Peeta say goodbye but I don't pay any to it. Finnick finally stops tickling me for and just sits and looks at me for a few moments.

"What?" I say, blushing and beginning to feel self-conscious under his firm gaze.

"Nothing" he says, squirting more sunscreen on to his hand with a smile on his face "sit up, I need to do your shoulders" he says with a smirk and I obey.

Once he has finished applying sunscreen to my shoulders he slips the bottle back into my bag and sits so he is facing me.

"Now that you are protected from the sun, you can come for a swim, right?" Finnick asks me anxiously and it makes him seem so cute. It makes him sound like a little kid asking him mum for an ice cream and I can't help but smile at the way his face lights up as he asks me.

I have been going to school with Finnick since first grade, we were never friends, I don't even think he knew who I was but he was always there. Finnick was one of the popular ones; he had been with almost every girl in our year by 10th grade. He had that charming persona that no girl could say no to. He flirted with the girls and joked with the guys but I was never noticed because I was the quiet girl, the one who spent her time in the library because she felt self-conscious around people like Finnick. The one who was scared of the spotlight and would break-down when she was called upon in class. But things have changed on this trip, my confidence has had a little boost and I don't know if it is because of the small success in Katniss' love life or just the fact that I have gotten to know Finnick and he isn't the up-himself, popular boy that I always pictured him to be, but no matter what… I know that I will always have that small voice in the back of my head telling me that he is just messing with me, that tomorrow he will tell me that this was all just a big dare from one of the other jocks.

"I don't really want to swim, Finnick" I say, my gaze dropping as the small voice begins to become louder and louder and my confidence begins to pounder away.

You're not good enough, Annie.

This is just a game to him.

He doesn't actually care for you.

He doesn't actually like you.

You're not good enough.

"You're getting in the water now!" Finnick says as he stands from the sand and easily lifts me by the waist and hoists me over his shoulder.

"Finnick, stop." I tell him but he doesn't listen as he walks to the ocean water.

"Annie, you are going for a swim" he states firmly and I begin to squirm, My head beginning to spin from the thoughts that are tearing me apart, The ones that are attacking me from inside, taunting my mind until I break down on myself. It is the worst type of put-down, the one that comes from yourself because you can never escape it; it is always gnawing at you, no matter where you go.

"Finnick, just leave me alone!" I shout at him, the words blurting through my lips before I contemplate them. Finnick stops in his step. I can feel his body tense up from around me and I feel my vision become blurry and I'm not sure if it is because I am crying or I am about to black-out. I squeeze my eyes shut and the words become heavier and louder in my head.

He doesn't fucking want you!

You will _never _be good enough for _anyone!_

You're worthless!

You're a shy, little girl that has nothing to show for herself!

The words are pounding in my head so harshly that I don't notice that Finnick has placed me down from his shoulder and into the water. I begin to hear different people shouting in my ears, people from school, from my netball team, people who never liked me. I squeeze my eyes, willing for them to go away, willing for them to leave me alone.

"Stop, stop, stop" I repeat over and over again in a whisper like a mantra. I feel someone's arm wrap around me and I scream at the feel of their skin on me.

"Leave me alone, I'm sorry!" I say hastily.

"Shhh, Annie, shhh… it's alright, I'm not going to hurt you, shhh" I hear someone coo into my ear and their voice is soothing and calming in my ear. The warm breath slowing my heart beat and the feel of the body against mine slows the tears.

"I'm here for you, Annie. I won't let anything hurt you" they say and as I become more aware of my grasp on reality I realise it is Finnick that is soothing me and helping me get through this small panic attack.

"I-I'm so-sorry" I stutter in between gasps of air. I feel Finnick nod into my shoulder as he rubs small circles on my band with his hand.

"You have nothing to be sorry about" he whispers and I take a deep breath that calms me down enough.

"Are you alright?" Finnick asks me, holding me out at arm's length and looking me in the eye. I see the worry and sadness that edges his eyes and I give him a weak smile.

"Yeah" I say softly. His hands move up from my shoulders and cup my face; he uses the pads of his thumbs to wipe away the tears that are smeared on my cheeks.

"I-I-I… y-you… we-we" I stutter and he stops me with a 'shhh'

"You don't have to tell me anything, Annie" he whispers to me and I sigh.

"But I want to" I say and look him in the eye with another weak smile.

"Okay" he whispers. I take a few deep breaths before starting.

"For all my life I have been self-conscious" I say not really knowing where to start. "Especially at school, where there were people like you; the popular ones. You guys had so many friends and were so confident in yourselves, in a way it made it hard to be around you" I say and look him in the eye with a half-smile.

"Annie, you know I didn't mean to be-" Finnick starts.

"No. let me finish" I say firmly and then sigh. "I always have this nagging voice in my head telling me I'm not good enough, that I'm not wanted or needed in this world. I know it is so clique. The quiet girl with the small voice in her head putting her down but it hurts, Finnick! I can't escape it, it reminds me that I'm not confident and that I'm not pretty and just before it was telling me that _this"_ I say indicating between us "is all just a joke to you"

Finnick begins to shake his head frantically.

"No, Annie! No! This isn't a joke! I care about you Annie… I care about you more than I have cared about a girl before! You're important to me and I can stand to see you cry" he says and the stabbing pain in my heart begins to disappear. I give him a genuine smile.

"You're important to me too, Finnick" I whisper and he begins to lean in. I do the same and my heart begins to pound against my rib cage. Our lips connect and I feel the voice in my head deteriorate into a whisper, something that if I will to, I can ignore. The kiss is slow and sweet. His hand winds around my waist and mine go to his shoulders where I hold him in place. His lips move with mine and our noses hit into each other a few times which results in me giggling as Finnick smiles at me. This is my first kiss and it couldn't be better. The sweet smell of chocolate and I think that is mint? Radiating off of him. When we pull apart I rest my forehead to his and smile

"That was nice" I whisper to him and he chuckles but his eyes don't leave mine.

"It was" he says with a smirk.


	31. I Loved Him

**This chapter is pretty sad… so be prepared! I have been spending so much time writing about them on this island! I really think it is time to get them back to the camp hahaha! Well leave a review and happy reading :)**

**CH31 – I Loved Him**

Gale POV

"Well this is it" she says, swaying her arms out in the direction of the view in front of us. I smirk as the birds chirp in my background. The greenery that fall from the cliff that I'm on the edge of continues on and on like a waterfall. You can make out the white rimming of sand at the base of the island, wrapping around the small island. The clouds only meters above us, resting in the sky like bird nests in a tree. You can see the gaps in between the trees that make out the hiking track up here. Out past the cliff, the trees and the sand, the endless spread of light blue water sits, blending into the sky in a daze of blue. I sigh.

"This is it" I say, looking down the large cliff drop in front of me.

"One of the best hike tracks I have been on I think" Johanna says with a half-hearted smile. I watch as her eyes dart around quickly, taking in our surrounds and for just a second I see her falter, the pain to shine though as she takes a deep breath, looking out over the island.

"How do you move on?" I ask her, my eyes moving back to the view. I hear her breathing to speed up a little but she doesn't break down and cry or run away, she stands still beside me, her eyes continuing to scan the view.

"You don't" she breaths. Finally looking to me "you can't" she says and I notice that her guard is completely down and that you can see all her emotions written across her face.

"Then what did you do?" I ask her, turning to face her from the view and she lets out a sad laugh.

"I didn't do anything… I was living but I wasn't _living_" she says with a shaky breath. "I went through the motions of living, went to school, slept, ate, but I didn't live. I was like a ghost" she says as a stream of tears roll from there holding gates in her eyes.

"What will I do?" I ask her and her eyes quickly dart to my face and they sweep across it quickly as if she was searching for something on it.

"If you love her… as much as I loved him, you will fall into the same lifeless routine I did" she says, her eyes bearing into mine and I realise what she was searching for, she was searching for my love for Katniss. Her gaze seems daring in a way, like she is daring me to love Katniss, daring me to fall apart like she did and daring me to because a ghost of a person.

"But I can't, I have a family, a mother, brothers… they need me" I say, my eyes falling to the floor.

"then you don't love her like I loved him" she says casually, walking to a tree and sliding down the trunk so she is sitting on the floor, her knees tucked into her chest with her arms wrapped around them.

"How much did you love him?" I ask her as I walk over and join her on the dirt floor under the tree. I look at her and watch her reaction to my words. She falls into deep thought, opening her mouth a few times to speak but closing it again as if she were contemplating what to tell me. She takes a deep breath and then finally words begin to leave her lips.

"I loved him so much. His presence in a room was enough for me to fall apart" she says with a little chuckle "he was always there for me and he treated me like a goddess. Words can't describe my feelings for him though, it's like trying to explain how long a piece of string is… you cant. We were so young… so, so young when we fell in love and we were confident, brave, stupid. We didn't fear the world. We weren't scared of what could happen to us" she says and the tears begin to stream down her cheeks. "We were so fucking young! We were so fucking stupid!" she says harshly, flying her arms in the air with exasperation.

"Johanna-" I say.

"No! If I hadn't taken him with me, he would be alive, he would be happy and alive!" she shouts, the tears coming down faster and harder now. Enveloping her cheeks with water and making her flush red.

"Johanna… its alrig-" I try to say but she cuts me off again.

"It's not fucking okay! He wouldn't have been beaten, he would have had that girl stick her tongue down his throat, and he wouldn't have been killed!" She screams, her face falling into her hands. "I would have been the one killed and it would have been okay, he would have been able to move on and find someone else and be happy, he was the only one that cared about me, I don't have a family, they are all dead" she sobs loudly and I put my hand on her back and rub soothing circles.

"He had better opportunities than me… he was smart, funny, friendly. He could get a good job, a happy family, have a lot of friends and people who cared, but instead he was killed" she says and I feel my eyes begin to water from the pain that is so evident in Johanna.

"Johanna…." I begin and this time she doesn't cut me off "you have bottled this up for so, so long… this is what you need, to let it out, to let the grief run its course. You need to be sad, be lonely and be unhappy but once you let it go you will be able to find love again, you will be able to be happy again" I tell her and she sniffs.

"How do you know? All you have is someone who doesn't love you back?" she says to me but it is not out of rage or anger, but real curiosity and hope.

"My dad died, my dad died when I was so, so young" I tell her and she removes her hands from her face and looks at me, giving me a sad smile and a weak laugh.

"I lost my whole family, everyone I loved" she says, the sad smile still on her lips "I lost my younger brother, my younger sister, my mum and my dad to a car crash" she says weakly, she breaks our eye-contact and looks out to the view and this is when I realise that Johanna hasn't had just one loss, she has had so many. Johanna isn't just holding the pain of saying goodbye to the boy she loved, but to the family she loved as well. But her next words send me into a spin.

"And it was me that killed them, I was the car that smashed into them" she says with another weak laugh that holds so much pain and sadness that it makes me wince. "I couldn't deal with losing Liam, the guy I loved, that I went out and drank, I drank until I wasn't capable of standing, my parents were scared that I killed myself so they came looking for me, I crashed my car into theirs… they were killed instantly" she says and begins to sob uncontrollably. I begin to shut down myself; the pain that Johanna has had to suffer isn't fair. I swallow to try and rid of the large lump in my throat that has appeared causing it hard to speak and breath.

"Johanna, it wasn't your fault, you were drunk, you were trying to forget" I try to assure her but I know, in the back of my mind that it was futile, she just had to let it out, let the pain run through her until it can't anymore. She continues to weep and I don't stop her, I slide across a little and sling my arm around her shoulder, she curls up into my chest and we sit there.

It must have been an hour of two by the time she stopped sobbing, the tears didn't stop though. She backed out of her spot under my arm and looked at me through her puffy eyes, giving me another weak smile, but this one wasn't filled with sadness, but thanks.

"We should get back down to the beach, they will probably be leaving soon" she says and I nod.

"Okay, let's go" I say standing up and putting my hand out to help her up. We begin our trek down the mountain and after only a few moments of walking Johanna stops.

"Thanks" she says when I stop and turn around to see what she is doing "thanks for helping me"

"Anytime, whenever you need to talk you can come to me, Johanna. I know what pain feels like" I tell her with a sad smile.


	32. I Like You

**Sorry I didn't post yesterday! Was shopping for an outfit to goodlife :) and for those of you who don't know- good life is an Australian festival… here is chapter 32! I got the day off today because I had a swimming carnival that I didn't want to go to so I got to write a few chapters ahead! Anyways happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH32 – I Like You**

Katniss POV

"Okay, everyone hurry up and get in the fucking kayaks! If we don't leave now we are going to have to stay here the night!" Haymitch shouts at us and we all awkwardly stumble into the kayaks. It's 5pm and we are only just about to leave district 12 and go back to the camp site. I climb into the back seat of mine and Peeta's kayak and it sways in the water. Peeta jumps in after me and we wait as everyone else gets ready.

"Can we just go?" I whine to Haymitch after becoming impatient of waiting.

"Yeah, you two can go ahead, just if you get into trouble stay with the kayak" he says and I'm shocked that he actually let me and Peeta go. I begin to paddle and Peeta joins in as well. The trip is peaceful and quiet; the washing of the water against the paddle being the only noise surrounds us. It is comfortable out here, with Peeta.

"Did you talk to Gale?" Peeta asks me and I freeze as the words shock me. I hadn't spoken to Gale, he ended up coming back with Johanna just before me left and I didn't have any time to talk with him, not that I wanted to. I'm sort of scared to confront him about it, he can be aggressive some times and I don't know how he will react if I talk to him.

"Ugh… no, not yet" I say, clearing my throat uncomfortably.

"Are you going to talk to him?" he pushes and I feel a lump form in my throat. To be honest I don't know what to say when and if I talk to him, _hi Gale, I'm sorry that you love me because I don't love you back, I actually like Peeta and that's why I kissed him, maybe you should get with Johanna that way we will all be happy_ yeah, I doubt that it going to go down well.

"I… ugh… I don't know" I mutter and Peeta stops paddling. He moves around so he has his legs off one side of the kayak and is looking at me.

"Katniss, you need to talk to him" he says with concern and I place my paddle in my lap.

"What if I don't want to talk to him?" I say a little too harshly.

"Just because you don't want to, doesn't mean you don't need to" he says simply and I let out a huff.

"I don't need to talk to him, he can deal with it" I snap and Peeta narrows his eyes a little, not in frustration or anger but curiosity and thought.

"What is it he is exactly _dealing_ with?" Peeta asks and the words pull me up short. I really don't know the answer. Know that I think of it, Gale had no right to be angry it is my choice who I kiss, he had no problem with me kissing Cato; well he didn't _like_ it but he didn't react like he did when he saw me and Peeta. I sigh, my mind blanking out from all the thinking.

"I don't know" I say a little frustrated; not at Peeta but at myself. Why did I have to make things so complicated? Couldn't I just stay single for a little bit! I guess the world had different plans for me.

"Katniss…" Peeta says, turning in his seat to completely face me "what am I, you, what are we?" he asks indicating to the space between us. I sigh and look to my hands that are resting on the paddle in my lap.

"I don't know, what do you think we are?" I ask him, looking up at him through my eyelashes. He is looking up at the sky, his hands placed in his hair and his face crumpled up in thought or maybe frustration.

"I… I want us to be more than… friends, but I don't know if you do so I'm stuck here, wishing that I could read your mind to know what you want" he stampers and I find myself lost in the daze of his words. Do I want to be more than friends with Peeta? Yes. I even told Annie. I do want us to be more, then why am I so hesitant about it?

"I-I…" I take a deep breath and begin to speak again "I want us to be more than friends, I know that" I say and his face lights up "but I'm scared of being with you" I whisper and he lets out a little 'huh?'

"Why?" he asks me and I frown.

"I don't know, because of my parents, because of Cato, because of Gale, because I have only known you for 5 days" I gush, not knowing the exact reason that I'm hesitant about a relationship with Peeta.

"Katniss, I won't let anything hurt you" Peeta tells me and my breathing becomes shaky.

"Peeta… I like you and all but I just want to be friends… for now" I say, fiddling with the rope attached to the paddle.

"Katniss, I like you as well" Peeta says confidently and it makes me feel kind of stupid "so why don't we just try this… us, give it a try and see where it leads" he says and the words begin to convince me. I could just try. I could give us a chance. What is the worse that could happen? I look up to him and I can see the confidence and hope reminiscing in his eyes… but I can't. I barely know him! I met him less than a week ago and I don't think I'm ready to be anything more than friends at the moment. I know that I like him… I like him more than I have ever liked a guy but I'm not ready to classify our relationship as anything more than friends.

"Peeta… I don't-"

"Don't worry, Katniss. If you just want to be friends, I'm fine with that" Peeta says and I can hear the disappointment, I look up to him and see his sad smile. I sigh and look down into the ever-changing water around me.

"I'm sorry" I say softly but he doesn't reply. He moves so that he is facing back to the front but the kayak begins to wobble and we end up in the water… again, with the capsized kayak floating beside us.

"What's with us and falling off this thing?" I ask him and he lets out a small chuckle, but it wasn't like his normal whole-hearted ones, it was laced with rejection and sadness and I begin to feel guilty. We fall silent for a while, just swimming and watching each other… well he was watching me; I was avoiding his eye contact.

"You're beautiful, Katniss" he says and I feel my cheeks flush at his words. No one has ever called me beautiful besides my sister and father. Cato would refer to me as _hot_ or _sexy_ but he never used a word with so much meaning like _beautiful._ But his words don't have the right effect on me, instead of making me happy and confident they make me feel guilty for turning him down so abruptly.

"Peeta, please don't do this, I like you and all… I'm just not ready" I say, looking up to him and watching despair change the features of his face.

"You're beautiful, Katniss" he repeats quieter and my heart begins to ache. I wish I could say yes to him, tell him that I want us to be more than friends but whenever I'm about to do it, about to tell him that I want to be with him a small voice begins to tell me that we will fall apart like my parents.

"Let's go" I say, climbing onto the kayak without Peeta's help and positioning myself in the seat, waiting for him to get on.


	33. Interruptions

**I have nothing to say besides happy reading and please leave a review! They really do lighten up my day :)**

**CH33 – Interruptions **

Peeta POV

"These burgers are so fucking good! I thought they were going to have shit camp food" Finnick says, moaning in delight. I continue to fiddle with the chips sitting on my plate, pushing them from one side of the plate to the other.

"Finnick! Don't speak with your mouth full!" Annie says, giving him a disapproving shake of the head. Finnick takes another huge bite of his burger and smiles stupidly as half of the food in his mouth falls out onto the plate. I roll my eyes and pick up a chip and eat it. Annie hits his arm and crosses her arms over her chest; I can't help but laugh just the tiniest bit.

"What are we doing after dinner?" Johanna asks, eating a forkful of salad. I look up at the rest of the group to see if they have any suggestions but they all stay quiet.

"We will find something to do later" Katniss says. My eyes dart up to her quickly. It is the first thing she has said all night; she hasn't taken her eyes off her food. Like me she is sitting there fiddling with the food on her plate. I sigh and look back down to my plate. I can feel the others gaze on me and Katniss but I don't care.

"Okay" Johanna says, drawing it out awkwardly "well... today was pretty fun" she says, changing the subject. My mind quickly wanders to me and Katniss kissing today. I clench my jaw shut and put my fork down.

"Yeah, it was!" Annie chirps in excitedly, sharing a glance with Finnick.

"My hike was pretty good" Johanna says with the corner of her lips twitching up into the smallest of smiles.

"I KNOW!" Finnick shouts randomly and we all look at him confused but his outburst.

"You know what?" Johanna asks, with her eyebrows raised.

"I know what we should do after dinner! We should have a game of truth or dare… and not the pussy kind!" Finnick says with a smirk. I shrug; really I couldn't care what we do after dinner.

"Okay, sounds like a plan" Gale says and Annie and Johanna nod in agreement.

**Time lapse**

"Okay, someone grab a bottle!" Finnick shouts. I sit down in the circle with Finnick on one side of me and Johanna on the other as Annie comes running along with a bottle. She places it in the middle of the circle and skips to her spot next to Finnick. I lean back on my hands and look at the sky. We are down on the beach because its only 8:30pm so we don't have to be on camp grounds yet.

"I'm going first!" Finnick says, placing his hand on the bottle and spinning it. It twirls around in circles for a few moments and then slows to a stop on Gale.

"Truth or dare, Gale?" Finnick asks him with a mischievous grin. My eyes flicker to Katniss for a second and I see her staring intently at the bottle in the middle of the circle.

"Dare" Gale say confidently and my eyes flick back to him.

"Okay! I dare you tooooo…." Finnick says, dragging out the sentence as he scans the camp grounds for an idea, his gaze then goes back to Gale "I dare you to go tell Ms Paylor that she looks good in those jeans" Finnick says and I know that this game is going to get very interesting if this is what Finnick is _starting_ with.

"Sure" Gale says casually with a shrug, standing from his spot and walking towards a table that Ms Paylor is sitting with Haymitch. We all watch carefully as Gale approaches her; he doesn't seem at all effected by this dare. He is too far away for us to be able to hear but we can see the movement of his mouth.

'Hi Ms Paylor' I see Gale say to her.

'Hi Gale' I watch Haymitch say from his spot across from Ms Paylor. Gale nods in response to Haymitch and then turns back to Ms Paylor.

'I just wanted to tell you that you look really good in those jeans' I see Gale say to her and I have to hold back a laugh. I watch as Ms Paylor's face fills with shock, but she blushes at his compliments, she clears her throat.

'Thankyou, Gale, um… yeah' she says and I look at Haymitch who is rolling his eyes; unimpressed by Gales words.

'Okay, well I will see you round' Gale says turning around and striding back towards us confidently. He sits down in his spot in the circle and grabs the bottle and spins it without looking at any of us. It spins and then lands on Annie.

"Truth or dare" Gale asks and Annie giggles.

"Truth" she says and Gale lets out a little 'hmm'

"What's the furthest you have gone with a guy" he asks and Annie's face drops, she looks at her lap uncomfortably.

"Umm… only first base" she says and she seems to be ashamed.

"You're so innocent, Annie" Gale jokes, giving her a small wink that seems to cheer her up. She smiles and then grabs the bottle and spins it, it lands on me and Annie asks me the same question.

"Dare" I say, looking Annie in the eye.

"Umm… take your pants off" she says with a little giggle and I roll my eyes. I do as she says and strip my shorts off; it's not that bad because I have my boxer briefs on. I sit back down and grab the bottle giving it a spin. It lands on Johanna and she smiles wickedly at me.

"Dare" she says before I have even asked the question.

"Okay… I dare you to remove any clothing that is black" I say, it's not a big deal for me to see Johanna in her underwear and bra; we are practically siblings so neither of us care. She strips off her black top and places it beside her. I snicker as I watch Gale stare at her chest.

"You right there, Gale?" I ask him slyly and his gaze breaks from Johanna's chest.

"Just peachy" he replies as Johanna grabs the bottle and spins it. It lands on Katniss

"Truth or-"

"A game of truth or dare, huh?" someone asks from behind me, I turn around to find Finnick standing there with Glimmer, Clove and Thresh "mind if we join in?" he asks, staring at Katniss, who hasn't said anything since we sat down to play the game.

"Cato, just leave" Finnick says firmly, his gaze directed right at Cato.

"What you scared that I'm going to dare you to do something embarrassing, pretty boy?" Cato asks Finnick with a snicker.

"Cato, just fuck off, we aren't together so you don't belong here anymore" Katniss pipes up out of nowhere.

"Oh, Katniss, the little spark of fire, I'm not here for you, I just wanted to play a game of truth or dare, that's it" he says with a smug grin. She rolled her eyes at him and sighed loudly.

"Whatever, just fucking sit down" she said and I could tell she was pissed off. Cato slumped down in between Katniss and Annie, Glimmer sat beside me, Clove squished in between Gale and Johanna and Thresh sat in between Finnick and me. This game just got interesting.


	34. Truth Or Dare

**Thankyou everyone for all the lovely reviews! They make me feel so good inside :) I would also like to give a shoutout to all my new readers! You guys are great! I just wrote chapter 37 and it was pretty heated… anyway here is chapter 34, not the best chapter but it does what it needs to do… happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH34 – Truth or Dare**

Katniss POV

"okay… where was I, truth or dare, Katniss?" Johanna says, starting the game up again after our interruption.

"truth" I said simply.

"okay, if you had to make out with someone here who would it be?" Johanna asks and I freeze, I defiantly wasn't expecting _this_ question. I clear my throat and then look around the group. If I choose Peeta, Gale will be pissed and it might seem like im leading him on, if I choose Gale, Peeta would be pissed and to be honest I don't want to make out with Gale. I could just choose Finnick, he doesn't cause any problems besides the fact that annie and him have a thing and she might get annoyed… I defiantly don't want to choose Cato. What about Thresh? The quiet, black guy that looks friendly but scary at the same time. Yeah, he is the easiest answer.

"umm… Thresh" I say and everyones eyes widen at my answer, I keep my eyes away from both Peeta and Gale.

"well" Johanna says awkwardly, she clears her throat and then looks back at the bottle "that was umm… unexpected, well its your turn" Johanna said handing me the bottle. I grabbed it and span it on the ground. Please don't land on Peeta. Please don't land on Gale. Please don't land on Cato. Shit! It landed on Peeta.

"ughh… umm… truth or dare?" I ask him, my eyes plastered on the now still bottle inbetween us. To be honest, this is really awkward. He is sitting there in no pants watching me carefully.

"dare" he says. I think for a second of a reasonable dare but my mine comes up completely blank.

"okay…" I say, racking every park of my brain for something "umm… kiss Finnick for 10 seconds… on the lips" I say and he laughs. I turn to look at Finnick and see that he looks petrified. I smile a little.

"come here, Finny" Peeta says with a laugh and Finnick edges closer to Peeta.

"wait before I do this, I want there to be a timer so I don't kiss Finnick any longer than I have to" Peeta says. Me, Annie, Johanna, Gale and Thresh laugh but Clove, Glimmer and Cato, they just sit there in silence which pisses me off. I pull out my phone and open the timer app. I set it to 30seconds.

"okay, 3, 2, 1, go!" Johanna says, I click start and the Peeta and Finnick begin to kiss. Finnick is staring at Peeta, waving his arms around and Peeta has his eyes squeezed shut really hard. I cant hold back the laugh that is forming in my throat. I cover my mouth and laugh hysterically and the two guys continue to kiss with disgusted looks on their face. After 30 seconds the buzzer goes off and the Peeta and Finnick couldn't pull away any faster. Finnick begins wiping his tongue with his mouth and Peeta spits into the sand.

"This was a one time thing okay, Finnick" Peeta says jokingly. I continue to laugh and I have to admit that this dare has helped cheer me up a little bit.

"okay, my turn" Peeta said grabbing the bottle and giving it a spon. It lands on clove and she smirks.

"dare, obviously" Clove says smugly. Peeta rolls his eyes and his eyes flicker around the group.

"I dare you to kiss 3 guys and tell us which one is the best… blindfolded" Peeta adds and Clove rolls her eyes

"sure, this is an easy one" Clove says. Annie pulls off the black scarf that she is wearing and hands it to Peeta who blindfolds Clove with it. Peeta then walks to Cato and pushes him infront of Clove without making a noise.

"okay, person number one" Peeta says and Cato leans in and kisses Clove. From where im sitting it looks pretty heated… Cato has his hands in her hair and Clove has hers around his shoulders. After about 40seconds everyone gets bored of watching them kiss and Peeta breaks them up.

"okay, person two" Peeta says pushing Gale forward to Clove. Gale freezes when he stands infront of Clove and then takes a deep breath and kisses her, it is really short and not that exciting. Next Peeta puts Thresh up and their kiss is a reasonable time but nothing interesting.

"okay, who do you choose?" Peeta asks her she smirks at him and then leans back on her hands.

"I choose… person number 1 and number 3 came second then number 2, oh and by the way, thanks number 1 for the tongue" Clove says with a smug look and I feel like im about to throw up. Cato gave Clove tongue. I cant believe I ever went out with him.

"okay well its my shot now bitches, you better be ready" Clove says as she spins the bottle it lands on me and I sigh.

"truth" I say and she nods

"have you ever fantasized about any one particular person?" she asks and I roll my eyes. No shit I have.

"yes" I reply and go to grab the bottle

"who?" Clove asks and I shake my head.

"you only get one question" I say and spin the bottle. It lands on Glimmer.

"truth" she says.

"have you ever watched porn" I ask her and smirk.

"yep" she answers simple and takes her turn to spin the bottle.

**Time lapse**

I'm sitting here in my bra and shorts. I have been dared to kiss Thresh and Cato, both which I did. I was also dared to call up thom, one of my exes, and tell him that I want him back, luckily he didn't answer the call. Cato is sitting with no shirt because he was dared to have glimmer lick whipped cream off his chest, Thresh has kissed almost every girl in the circle, Gale had to make out with glimmer for 1 minute, Annie had to admit she liked Finnick, Peeta has to wear Johannas skirt for the rest of the game, he also had to admit that he jerked off to a picture of Mirada Kerr which I found hilarious, Johanna is sitting in her bra and underwear, she had to eat a handful of sand, she had to admit that she had a childhood crush on Peeta, she also had to eat a jelly bean off of Gales tongue which made me feel sick.

"okay, go back to camp grounds with a sign that says 'kiss me if you think im cute' and walk around for 5 minutes" Annie says to Peeta and I cant help but smile at the innocence of the dare. Annie has always been innocent, its so cute.

"sure" Peeta says. We all walk back to the camp but don't go inside the gate, instead we walk around the back and find a piece of cardboard from the kitchen and we grab a permanent marker. Peeta writes 'kiss me if you think im cute' on the cardboard and we all huddle around the fence as he walks in. I am holding back a laugh as he walks around the camp grounds with the sign. A blonde girl names Jenna, comes up and kisses him, then a black haired girl named Rose, then a girl that I don't know. He continues to get kissed by different girls and to my surprise one guy. He comes back after 5 minutes and he has been kissed by 24 different girls and 1 guy. I do feel a little jealous but I ignore it and get back to the game.

"my turn" Peeta says once we are all sitting in a circle again. He spins the bottle and it lands on Finnick.

"dare" Finnick says.

"I dare you to go skinny dipping right now" Peeta says with a laugh. Finnick does as told and strips down till he is nude and then runs into the ocean. He comes out about 5 minutes later and redresses he then spins the bottle and It lands on me.

"dare" I say, feeling a little confident.

"okay… I dare you and Peeta…" Finnick says and I already feel dread overtake me. "to go behind those bushes for 2 minutes and Peeta is allowed to do what ever he likes and your not allowed to hesitate" Finnicks says and to be honest this sounds like rape. I nod my head and walk over to the bushes and Peeta follows. Its far enough away from the group so they wouldn't be able to hear us or see us.

"so…" Peeta says once we are there. I shift my weight uncomfortably.

"so" I say, looking up to him.

"umm… well…" he says and clears his throat.

"peeta, just do whatever" I say because I know standing here doing nothing is going to be more awkward then us actually doing something.

"umm… okay" Peeta says hesitantly. He takes a step towards me and I step in as well. He puts him lips to mine and kisses me, I return it because his lips feel so good and soft. It deepens and my tongue slithers into his mouth, exploring and tasting. His hands move from my hair to my chest and he grasps one of my boobs, that are only covered by the lacy material of my bra. He squeazes it gently and I have to bite the inside of my mouth to hold back from moaning. I want to be with Peeta, I do but I haven't even known his for a week and the way I feel about him already is scaring me. To think that I like him so much frightens me. He begins to kiss my jaw and then the crook of my neck and I put my head back. How can someone make me feel so good and right when I haven't even known them for a week. I pull his face back to my lips and kiss him, I can feel him smiling against my lips and I pull back.

"peeta, why do you make me feel so good?" I ask him and he watches me for a few moments.

"because we are meant to be" he whispers. Im about to say something back but we hear the group shouting 'times up!' I sigh and Peeta walks out from the bushes. I stand there for a few extra moments composing myself before emerging from the darkness of the bush.


	35. Shitting Pigs

**The title of this chapter is weird… and unexpected I know, but I just had to use that line :") anyway I want to say the biggest and best-est thankyou to**Hikari **who left the sweetest review ever! Thankyou so much! And a shout out to all the great people following and favourite-ing my story… really does bring a smile to my face every day! So happy reading and please leave review! :)**

**CH35 – Shitting Pigs**

Annie POV

"You mean all you did was kiss! Man Finnick gave you the perfect opportunity!" Annie shouts at me.

"Well we didn't just kiss, he touched my boobs" I say sheepishly. All of a sudden my pile of clothes on the floor becomes extremely interesting and I stare at it closely. After the game of truth or dare I made Cato and his little gang leave and me, Annie and Johanna came back to our tent.

"You mean little Peety, touched your _boobs!_" Johanna says with a wicked smirk. I nod slowly and look back up to them. Johanna begins to laugh hysterically and I scowl at her.

"Well at least Finnick's plan wasn't a complete waste" Annie mumbles and I look at her with my eyebrows raised.

"_Plan?_" I say and her eyes widen with shock

"Shit, shit, shit, wasn't meant to say that… umm…" she mutters and diverts her eyes away from me.

"Annie… what is this plan that Finnick had?" I ask her sternly and she looks back at me with sorriness but I can also see a glint of humour. Why is this funny? I shake my head and stare at her until she finally gives in and spills this _plan_ of Finnick's.

"It's just… you and Peeta would be so cute together! So me and Finnick were trying to set you guys up… that's why he suggested the game of truth or dare because it meant that he could dare you and Peeta to kiss or something" Annie says with a sigh. Johanna begins laughing louder but I just can't believe she would try and set me and Peeta up. I'm sort of annoyed but it is really funny at the same time. I shake my head at her with a smirk.

"What?" Annie asks and she looks kind of nervous.

"I just find it funny that you are trying to set me up when you and Finnick aren't even together yet!" I say to her and I see the blush creep onto the cheeks and the small smile twitch at her lips. "Now that I think about it… you never told me what happened when Peeta and me left to go surfing and I gave you that opportunity" I say with a wicked grin. Her eyes dart up to me and I can tell that something happened between her and Finnick.

"We… we kissed and-"

"Holy shitting pigs! Mother-fucking horse balls! Son of a bitches monkey face!" Johanna blurts out quickly and my eyes dart to her, she has a massive grin on her face that just makes me even more confused.

"What the fuck was that about" I ask her as I try to piece together her random outburst of curses and animal names.

"My little babies are finally settling down!" Johanna says happily but that statement hasn't helped one little bit… I'm still as fucking confused as before. Is she high or something?

"What are you on about?" Annie says looking worried by Johanna's confusing behaviour.

"My little Peety and Finny are finally settling down, Finnick isn't running around with random girls and Peeta has finally found someone to chase after" Johanna says and I begin to wonder what she meant by _finally found someone to chase after_. Everyone knew that Finnick was a player but what did she mean with Peeta? But then it clicks.

"Peeta has never had a girlfriend" I ask in complete shock but it comes out as more of a statement than a question. Even I have been out with someone and we are talking about _me_ – the antisocial, sarcastic, no-one. Johanna nods in confirmation and I try to hold back the laughing fit that is trying to take hold of me. Annie and Johanna are watching me intensely and I crack up laughing. They both join in, but I think they are more laughing at my reaction than at the fact that Peeta has never had a girlfriend.

"b-but I have h-had 5 boyfriends-s!" I say in between laughter. Now that I think of it, I don't get how I ended up having 5 boyfriends, there was that guy in 7th grade, Brian, then I had one in 8th grade, john, then I had 2 in 10th grade, Sam and Thom and then Cato in 11th and 12th grade. Shit. I never even realised.

"Really?" Johanna asks after our laughing dies down a little. I nod at her and she begins to laugh.

"Hey, what is so funny?" I ask her and she stops laughing.

"How? You're an antisocial, sarcastic-"

"no-one, yeah I know" I say with a laugh. She looks up at me and her laughing stops.

"I wasn't going to say a no-one I was going to say brainless bitch" Johanna says. It has become second nature for us to call each other names and stuff so I wasn't effect by her choice of words. "You're not a no-one" she adds on as if I didn't understand what she was implying earlier, which to be completely honest I didn't.

"Yeah I am, barely anyone knows- or likes for that matter- me and I haven't got many friends" I say, my joking tone becoming more serious.

"Katniss, we are your friends, Peeta, Gale and Finnick are your friends and why does it matter if people know you anyway?" Annie says and I feel a little more confident by her words.

"and if It does matter so much about who knows you, almost all of our year does, your seen as the and I quote '_hot chick that stood up to that Cato-ass'_ and to be honest I would love to have that title" Johanna says and I smirk a little. Of course Johanna would want that title.

"okay, okay, well now that I know that Peeta hasn't had a girlfriend and that Annie and Finnick are going to end up together… what the hell am I going to do, he wants to be more than friends… and so do I, but I have only known him for 6 days!" I tell them and they both snicker

"Just do it, what the hell! Who cares?" Johanna says and I roll my eyes at her

"This is a onetime thing but I actually _agree_ with Johanna, just go for it" Annie says and I smile.

"Really?" I ask, still apprehensive about taking things further with Peeta.

"Yes!" they both say in unison, causing me to smile a little more. I decide right then and there that I'm going to be more than friends with Peeta. I am going to give it a shot! But maybe after we get to know each other better.

"Okay… I'm going to take things further with Peeta" I say with a smile and they both beam back at me happily "well do you guys want to do something? Its only 10pm" I ask them and they both drop their gazes to the ground as if ashamed. When neither of them replies I begin to get worried

"What?" I ask them and this time Annie speaks up.

"I'm…" Annie starts, she clears her throat and then continues "I'm watching a movie with Finnick, sorry" Annie says and I can't help but smirk

"Of course you are, Cresta" Johanna says, smirking but still looking kind of solemn.

"Well you explain what you're doing then!" Annie says defensively. Johanna's gaze drops back to the ground.

"I'm… umm… I'm having a game of night basketball with Gale" she says and this makes me laugh.

"Gale? Really!" I say and Johanna scowls at me. Maybe this is a good thing thought, I mean this might be a step closer to Johanna and Gale getting together and that will help me and Peeta "well you two have fun" I say and they both look at me, shocked.

"What are you going to do?" Annie asks me and I shrug casually.

"I don't know, maybe hang out with Peeta" I say with a smile. They both laugh and then nod.

"Well I'll see you guys later" I say, leaving through the tent door and walking into the cooling air. Everything is going well.


	36. Real Deep

**Hello all readers! This story is starting to become hard because of all the different dramas! But don't worry im not giving up on it! Thankyou everyone for all your lovely reviews… I always have fun reading them! So happy reading and please leave a review!**

**CH36 – Real Deep**

Peeta POV

Could things be any more awkward? Whatever could have happened between me and Katniss looks impossible now. I have ruined any opportunity of something with Katniss. It feels like my whole world has led to that one moment, that one moment that I completely fucked up!

"dude, all hope isn't lost" Finnick try's his hardest to reassure me, but how do you reassure someone who just had the one thing that was keeping them sane in this fucked up world completely push them away? I should have just kept my mouth shut on the kayak back. I should have just enjoyed her company instead of telling her I want to be more. Katniss doesn't understand how long I have waited though, she has always been there. She started at my school in 6th grade and the pre-puberty me couldn't take his eyes off her. Finnick might have only found out 6 days ago but I have liked her since I first laid eyes on her. Katniss had already lost her dad when I met her, I mean she was the new girl at school and word spreads fast so the whole school knew about it by her first week.

Now I'm in 12th grade and I have been chasing after the brown-haired, grey eyed girl for 6 years. To be honest it is pretty sad and I know it. I'm like a crazed stalker, watching her in the hallways of school, glancing at her during class. I actually think I could be classified as a creep. But that doesn't matter anymore because I fucked up that one moment, the one moment that I had been fantasizing about since 6th grade and I fucked it up. Why did I ask her to be more than friends when we have only been on talking terms for 6 fucking days! I'm such a fucking idiot!

"Peeta, 10 minutes ago you were touching her boobs and now you're flipping out that you fucked things up? She let you touch her fucking boobs!" Finnick tells me and it is true. I couldn't have fucked everything up if she let me touch her boobs but still. I groan loudly and flip over in my sling bed so my face is in the pillow.

"I told her I fucking wanted to be more than friends and she rejected me… you can't say that I didn't fuck things up" I say into the pillow and I hear Finnick's chuckle.

"Peeta made his first move on a girl and she turned him down" he says and laughs harder.

"Shut the fuck up!" I say flinging my pillow at him. It hits him right in the head and his laughing dies down. The clears his throat and regains his composure.

"Well… if a girl lets you touch her boobs, she is defiantly not mad" Finnick states and I roll my eyes. Of course he would know this.

"It was a dare! She wasn't allowed to resist, remember?" I say as I flop back down onto my bed.

"But that doesn't mean she wouldn't" Finnick says and I look up at him. He raises his eyebrows at me and I can't help but smirk. Of course Katniss would have resisted if she didn't want me to touch her boobs, she isn't one to follow rules anyway.

"Whatever" I mutter, looking back up to the dark green canvas roof of our tent "wanna go grab some food? I'm starving" I ask Finnick, looking back to him. He has a stupid grin on his face but is looking at the ground.

"Finnick?" I say after he doesn't reply for an extended period of time.

"Umm… I have a date-thing with Annie" he says and I have to look back at the roof to resist from laughing my head off. Finnick Odair on a _date_?!

"Have I got sand in my ear or did Finnick Odair just say he had a date with Annie Cresta?" I ask him with my eyebrows raised. He looks up to me and rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, you dickhead, I have a date" he says and I begin to laugh. He scoffs and then slumps down onto his bed.

"Is the famous Panem High player, Finnick Odair, finally retiring in his final year of school?" I ask him teasingly and this time I'm the one being hit with a pillow. I begin laughing again and Finnick scowls at me.

"But Annie actually wears clothes! You 2 just seem so completely opposite! She likes books, keeping to herself and staying at home regularly whereas you like sex, having as many people around you as possible and going to parties every night" I say to him and he turns to face me.

"I feel like I want to change when I'm with her, I want to forget about the parties, the girls, the drinks. I want to be with her, she is like a dolphin and I'm a shark that wants to be a dolphin" Finnick says; he was never good with words. "she is so sweet and caring, she is self-conscious and quiet and makes me want to live a life where I don't wonder when the next party is but when the next time I get to be with her is" Finnick says softly and I have to use everything in me not to burst out laughing and begin mocking him about how emotional and fucking deep his words were.

"That's… deep, man…. Real deep" I say, still holding back the laughter.

"Yeah, fuck you! Just because you don't know what it is like because you're a virgin!" Finnick says and I roll my eyes.

"We'll have a great date" I say to Finnick, slightly pissed that he brought this up again.

"I will thanks" Finnick says and with that, he gets up and leaves the tent. Well, fuck.


	37. Just Once

**Im so sorry for disappearing for 3 days! I had a family thing on the first night so I couldn't update, then I had a festival (which was amazing!) on the second and then last night I was completely tired from the festival and school that I didn't have time to update but im back now! Updating with a pretty serious chapter! Anyway, happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH37 – Just Once**

Gale POV

I came here to sort out my thoughts. To figure out where I am in my head because at the moment my mind feels like a maze and I'm lost in the middle of it and with every corner I turn I become even more confused. It's as if they sealed off the escapes from the maze so that I would be ever-wondering, searching for a way out but never finding it.

I want that escape from my mind; I want to know how to escape what is ravelling me into such a confused state. Katniss and Johanna. I find it so strange, I have never been this confused over my feelings for girls, probably because out of the many relationships I had over the years none of them were serious, just excuses and distractions from my feelings for Katniss, but now that Johanna is in the picture, I don't just have an urge to know here to distract myself from Katniss' blossoming relationship with Peeta, but out of real curiosity. I want to be there for Johanna, help her grief the loss of her family and loved one, help her find happiness in this world again. But that scares me in a way. I'm afraid to move on from Katniss, afraid to charter into unmapped territory. I am so use to trying to forget the way I feel about Katniss that I'm scared to find someone that might actually open up to me the way I open up to them. I never got that from Katniss, sure she was my best-friend, the person who helped me through the loss of my dad, but that doesn't mean that she opened up to me.

"I didn't think I would find you, of all people, here" someone says from behind me and I would know that voice from anywhere.

Katniss.

I don't make a move to look at her; I continue to watch the waterfall flow over the glistening rocks, creating whirling patterns through the blues and whites of the flowing water. I found this place the other day; it is just behind camp grounds. A massive waterfall that flows into a small stream, there is a rock cut-out perfect to sit in and watch the continuous movement of the water.

"Sometimes people have to be alone to be able to forget certain _things_" I say with an edge just so she understands what I was inferring. She sighs loudly and then moves to sit down in the rock cut-out beside me.

"Gale, what do you want me to do?" she asks me and I feel like laughing. Her statement is so selfless but selfish at the same time.

"What I want… is something that you will never give" I say simply, still not looking at her. I keep my eyes on the water and use the sight of the waterfall and the sound of flowing water to calm me so I don't snap at her and do something I regret.

"Gale… I can't just _love_ you. I could fake it, I could pretend to feel the way you want me to feel but where will that get either of us?" she asks me and what she is saying is true but it doesn't make it any easier to hear.

"Yeah, where will that get either of us" I say bitterly. The sting to my words is unusual even to me. I have spoken this way; I have put venom into my words but never to Katniss.

"Nowhere! No fucking where! So what the fuck do you want me to do Gale?" Katniss snaps and I try to not react to the harshness and the venom that is leaking from her words. It stings, hearing her so bitter towards me but I was the one that pushed her into her angry state.

"You know what it is like to lose someone you love, Katniss, you know the fucking pain, you lost your dad for crying out loud! So don't act like this is easy for me. To just forget about you, to just move on from the one I love and find someone else because I can't" I say angrily, finally I give it to the urge to look at her and turn so I can see her face completely. I watch as her eyes glass over with tears; probably from me bringing up her dad but maybe she feels sad for me, she pities me because of the position she put me in. She should know by now that I don't want her pity, I don't need it either. Her chin begins to tremble ever so slightly and she bites her lip as an attempt to stop it. Her cheeks become red and the tears begin to roll down her cheeks. I turn and face her, taking in her distressed state. Quickly and swiftly, I lean forward and place my lips on hers and my hand on her cheek; kissing her deeply. It lasts for a few seconds until I pull back, turning to face back to the waterfall.

"I had to do it, just once" I say coldly, not moving to look at her.

"Gale…" Katniss says her voice so low that I have to lean forward to hear it even though we are right next to each other.

"Katniss, don't. Because if you do, if you do apologise and try and make me feel better, I will break and fall into the familiarity of your words and then I will never be able to move on. I will be stuck watching you move on with your life with _Peeta_ as I wither away as the guy who once knew and always loved Katniss Everdeen" I say quietly. I two deep, shaky breaths and then look up to Katniss. I can see the pain registering in her expression but I can see more than that, I can see the desperation, the hope, the longing for our friendship to return to the way before this stupid trip. But behind all that, hidden deep within her eyes I can see the sorriness that I never wanted to see in Katniss' eyes. I can see the pity for me and the venerable place I have been caught in.

"Don't pity me, Katniss" is all I say and her face returns to neutral but the silent tears continue to roll down her cheeks.

"I am going to go" Katniss says. She stands up and turns around quickly. I hear her footsteps scattering on the rocks as she surrenders back to the camp, surrenders under the emotional-tension that has come between us because of the conversation. But after a few steps I hear her footsteps stop. I have an urge to turn around and tell her to not go, but I know that if I do, I will be giving in. Showing that I will not be able to move on from her. I hear her sigh and them her footsteps on the rock again. The first step to moving on is not turning back.


	38. An Escape

**I don't own the song: The man – by Aloe Blacc**

**Here is chapter 38, thankyou everyone for the lovely reviews and all the following and favourites I have got recently. Would like to say hi to all the new readers you guys are great along with the all my since-the-beginning readers! Anyway happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH38 – An Escape**

Katniss POV

I scatter through the trees and the tears pour down my cheeks. I just wanted to make things right. I never wanted to loose Gale. I stop at the very edge of the tree lining, hiding myself from the eyes of the people hanging around camp grounds. I take a few deep breaths and quickly wipe my tears. If Gale doesn't think it is worth fighting for our friendship and working something out then neither do I. I'm going to find Annie and tell her everything and hopefully she will help me sort things out.

I compose myself and remerge from the tree line and back onto the camp grounds. I walk to our tent hoping that Annie will still be there so I can talk things over with her.

"Thank god you're still here, Annie!" I say when I walk through the tent door. Annie was packing a small brown bag and looked up to me when I spoke.

"Oh, yeah, I'm meeting Finnick soon though" she says. She leaves what she is doing and walks over to me, a look of worry showing on her face "have you been crying? Katniss, what happened?" she asks before pulling me into a comforting hug. I try and stop the tears that are prickling in my eyes but it's no use; within seconds I'm sobbing into her shoulder and she is rubbing my back calmingly.

"I'm sick of crying" I tell her truthfully. I swear I have done way more crying in the last 6 days than I have in a whole year. Annie laughs and pulls me down to her bed.

"Okay, so explain" she says and I position myself so one leg is tucked under me and the other is still off the bed.

"I went to the waterfall, the one behind the camp grounds and gale was there, I talked to him about us… but it didn't go well and he brought up me losing my dad and that I know what it is like to not be able to have the one you love… he was pretty much saying that I should stop acting like a bitch to him… so I ended up storming off crying. Doesn't exactly sound like me, but you know" I explain and Annie nods her head.

"so, to solve this, you let Gale calm down, you go hang out with Peeta, maybe tomorrow or the day after you try talking to Gale again and tell him _exactly_ how you feel" Annie says and I can't be more happy that she is so good at giving advice, it seems strange though, for someone so quiet and unnoticed like Annie to be able to give such great advice. I guess she been able to watch people closer because they never noticed her.

"Okay" I say, pulling her into a tight hug. I'm not much of a hugger and Annie knows this, but over these past 6 days and I felt like I need to express how grateful I am to have Annie than I use to.

"Now you go have fun" I tell her as I pull away giving her a small smile. The blush on her cheeks is noticeable even with her dark tan.

"I'll see you later, Katniss" Annie says, grabbing her bag then giving me a quick hug, she then rushes through the tent door and leaves me standing in the quietness of the tent. The evening sun is shining through the window lighting up the small floating particles that dance through the air like ballerinas. I sit down on the canvas flooring of the tent with my knees to my chin and my arms wrapped around them. I want some time just to escape everything that is happing in my _social life_ at the moment. I check my phone for the time; it is only 4:00pm. I get up with a plan to escape reality just for a little while. I grab my backpack and place my phone, earphones, a blanket and my wallet in. I get changed into a comfy pair of cotton shorts with floral print and a tight singlet with I tuck into the shorts. I walk out the tent and head in the direction of the small deli thing to get some food. I buy a packet of chips, a bottle of coke, a few chocolate bars and some red liquorish. I thank the lady at the counter and put the food into my bag.

I begin to walk, to where… I don't exactly know. I just plan to walk until I find somewhere I like and sit down and forget about everything that happened today. I head in the direction of the camp gate; I know that I will never be able to escape if I'm stuck in the camp grounds. I head towards the forest that sits far back off the shore of the beach. The darkness of the canopy of trees engulfs me and I let out a sigh of relief. I know that anywhere in here is good. I wonder through the maze of trees and overgrowth. The quiet scattering of small animals running from my presence, the high chirps of flying birds up above, the soothing sound of water flowing in the distance all helps me relax, it feels like home. I begin to hum quietly as I watch my footing on the bumpy ground. The birds begin to join in with the hum of my melody and I can't help but smile at the sound of the different pitches echoing through the trees of the forest. I'm not completely sure what song I'm humming to until the words begin to leave my mouth.

_Girl you can tell everybody  
Yeah you can tell everybody  
Go ahead and tell everybody  
I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man  
Yes I am, yes I am, yes I am  
I'm the man, I'm the man, I'm the man_

I begin to laugh. I'm happy that it wasn't some depressing song that came to mind as I walked through the forest but one that was about confidence and not caring what people say.

_I believe every lie that I ever told  
Paid for every heart that I ever stole  
I paid my cause and I didn't fold  
Well it ain't that hard when you got soul  
Somewhere I heard that life is a test  
I been though the worst but still I give my best  
God made my mold different from the rest  
Then he broke that mold so I know I'm blessed_

I continue to sing and the birds continue to chirp out the melody of the song. This is the escape I need and I'm so happy I found it here. After a few more moments of singing and walking through the soothing forest, the trees begin to thin out and the light seeping through the leaves becomes brighter. Before I know it I'm standing in a large meadow filled with blooming flowers of blue, purple, pink and a patch of yellow in the very middle. The sight is breathtaking, a little hidden getaway in the middle of the forest. The sight looks contradicting in a way, the brightness of the open, flowering meadow makes the forest surrounding it looks like a dark, dangerous place when really, the meadow is probably the more dangerous place to be, out in the open for any predator to attack. It just seems to show that looks can be deceiving. I'm not scared of the wild animals though, if I don't bother them, they won't bother me. I pull out the blanket and lay it out in the meadow, I pull out the food and place it next to me and stick in my earphones and listen to music on my phone. The escape I needed.


	39. Nervous

**Don't really have anything to say besides thankyou for the few reviews from the last chapter, had fun reading them :) and hi to all my new readers! Happy reading and please leave a review!**

**CH39 – Nervous**

Annie POV

I walk over to the couches where we planned to meet and sit down. I'm early, it is only 6:00pm and we organised to meet at 6:30pm, I'm just… nervous. This is my first date ever. I fidget with the hem of the sundress I'm wearing. It is a light green and I decided to wear it because my mum always said it brought out my eyes. It was probably stupid to get here early… it gives me time to make excuses towards why I shouldn't be here, time for the voices to come back. I shouldn't be here, Finnick is popular and I'm not, he has had a lot of experience with girls where my only guy friend is Gale, he has money whereas I don't. I sigh loudly and squeeze my eyes shut, trying to remove the voice in my head.

"look who else was early" I hear someone say, I open to my eyes to find Finnick standing in front of me with a sheepish grin, his hair is messy as if he has been playing with it for hours, he is wearing a pair of maroon shorts and a black shirt. I smile; I like the fact that Finnick was extremely early as well.

"You look beautiful, Ms Cresta" he says and I roll my eyes playfully.

He is just lying.

He thinks you look ugly.

You're not good enough for him.

"You look striking, Mr Odair" I say, trying to overtake the voice that is pounding in my head "didn't you have time to do your hair?" I ask him with a small smile. He laughs loudly and runs his hand through his hair, messing it up even more.

"If I was to tell you the truth, you would laugh" Finnick says as he sits beside me on the couch. I turn so I'm facing him and then furrow my eyebrows.

"Why would I laugh?" I ask him curiously. His emerald eyes glisten in the evening sun, lighting up the rest of his face.

"I have a habit… of playing with my hair when I'm… nervous" Finnick says and I stifle a laugh. At least I'm not the only one that is nervous. The small fact that Finnick is nervous helps quieten the voice in my head. My eyes fall back to the hem of my dress and I smile widely.

"Should we just go watch a movie now? I mean, it's early so maybe less people will be in there" Finnick says with a wink. I know I'm blushing and I can't help it, he is so cute and romantic. He makes me feel so much better about myself, but the voice in my head thinks different.

He is just using you.

Why do you think he would want you?

It's not like you're pretty or funny!

You are worthless.

"Umm… yeah, sure" I say softly, avoiding Finnick's eyes as the words become louder again. I stand up but Finnick grabs my wrist, spinning me so I have to face him. I try and look everywhere but his eyes.

"Annie, look at me" he says firmly but caringly. I ignore him, instead focusing on the pattern of the bricks beneath me "Annie" He says softer this time and I can't help myself but look at his dazzling eyes. I can see the concern and hope in his eyes but the voice tells me that it isn't concern for me. That it wasn't concern at all. I sigh loudly and Finnick gives me a sad smile.

"Are you okay?" he asks me, standing up. He is taller than me so I have to look up to him now, but I like it, it makes me feel safe.

"I'm fine" I say, forcing a smile onto my lips, ignoring the voice once again but failing miserably.

"Annie, you're not fine" Finnick says, pulling me into a hug. I have to bite my lip to stop myself from crying. I will not cry in front of Finnick _again_. "How about we go watch that movie but completely ignore it and talk instead?" Finnick asks me with a smile which I find impossible to not return.

"Okay" I whisper and he grabs my hand. We begin to walk around the building to the movie room that we used the first day we got here. The short walk is peaceful and calming. It helps me feel a little better about myself, my hand wrapped in Finnick's rough one, his warming presence beside me. We swing open the double doors to find the dark room completely empty. I am extremely happy that it will be only me and Finnick. We kneel down in front of the computer and he begins to scroll through the movie list.

"What movie do you want to watch?" He asks me, still scrolling through the endless names of movies, half of them in which I don't know. Finally a movie title I recognise appears on the screen.

"Let's watch 'Charlie St. Cloud', I love that movie" I say with a smile. It is such a sad but romantic and happy movie and right now I feel like something like that. Finnick nods and clicks on the movie. It opens up but he pauses it and turns to me.

"Let's go get some food before it starts" he says, standing up and then extending his arm to me to help me up. I take it graciously and we both walk through the single door that we found on the first day that leads to the candy room.

"What should we choose" I ask him as I wonder through the racks of different chocolate, lollies, chips and drinks. I run my finger over the different packages and I swiftly move around the room inspecting all its contents.

"What about a bit of everything?" he asks and I look at him with confusion. He is still standing by the door frame but he has a stupid grin covering him face and he watches me. I laugh and he closes the distance between us.

"I bet nothing in here is as sweet as you" he says when he is less than a foot away. I laugh again and then push him shoulder.

"Shut up" I mutter, I turn back to the rack of chocolates I'm standing beside and pick up a block of caramel chocolate. I then walk past him, brushing his shoulder and grab a packet of skittles from another rack. I continue to collect different pieces of food as does Finnick. In the end we have a block of caramel chocolate, packet of skittles, packet of bbq chips, a small container of m&m's and some popcorn.

"Are you trying to make me fat?" I ask Finnick with a smirk. He shakes his head playfully.

"You would be beautiful either way" he says in a soft purr and I punch his shoulder.

"You are seriously so flirty" I tell him as I roll my eyes. He just laughs and then picks up our food choices and heads back out to the movie room. He chucks the food into the middle row of seats and then goes down to the baskets at the front of the room while I stand on the stairs watching him. He picks up 2 pillows and 1 blanket and heads back to the seats. He gestures for me to sit down and I obey, taking a seat in one of the plush recliners. He hands me a pillow and the blanket and heads back to the computer pressing play and then returning to the seat beside me. He puts the blanket over the 2 of us and I snuggle into his body heat.

"I reckon this is going to be a good movie" Finnick says looking down at me. I smile up to him and then my eyes return to the screen. I reckon this is going to be a good movie too.


	40. It's All About Playing It Cool

**This is a long chapter guys! 2,348 words! Make up for some of the shit filler chapters I have been doing recently. Also sorry about not updating yesterday (once again) I was busy writing the first chapter of another story I'm thinking of posting. I like where it is going :) anyway happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH40 – It's All About Playing It Cool**

Peeta POV

The crackling of leaves under my feet fills the wistful air. The sun is close to setting and even through the leaves above me I can see the sky turning into a blend of orangey-reds. I don't even know where I am, I decided to go for a walk along the beach and then I found a track that led into the forest, then I wandered off the track… so now I'm kind of lost. At least I have my phone so if it gets too late and I can't find my way back I can call someone. It is really quiet and serene out in the forest. I hear a something come from my right; it is like a quiet hum. I pause and look into the trees for an answer to what is creating the quiet noise. I can't see anything but I can tell that the trees thin out that way become more light is shining through the canopy of leaves. It might be a way out of the forest so I decide to head that way.

The humming becomes louder and I realise that it is a voice; someone singing quietly to a song. It is a perfect voice, soft and passionate. As I get closer I can make out the words of the singer

_You pick me up and take me home again  
Head out the window again  
We're hollow like the bottles that we drain  
You drape your wrists over the steering wheel  
Pulses can drive from here  
We might be hollow, but we're brave_

I know that song; 400 lux by Lorde. The voice that sings it is perfect; it matches the song with such ease. I continue to walk through the thinning forest until finally I reach the opening but it isn't an exit from the forest like I thought; it is a large meadow that is filled with blooming flowers that sway softly in the wind. In the middle there is a girl laying on a blanket, she is facing away from me and has earphones in so she hasn't noticed me. Her hair is long and brown, its flows around her shoulders and head and some of the flowers peak through the gaps of her hair. She is wearing a pair of washed-out denim shorts that makes her tan look even darker and a black and white stripped, tight crop-top. She is lying on her back, her knees are bent and her arms are under her head like a pillow. I would recognize her anywhere, its Katniss.

Her voice is filling the large meadow and then echoing through the forest. The words escaping her lips all flowed out with perfect tuning and I was frozen by the way the song affected me. I had heard her sing before but every time I hear her voice flowing through the air it has the same effect, freezes me.

_And I like you  
I love these roads where the houses don't change (and I like you)  
Where we can talk like there's something to say (and I like you)  
I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway (and I like you)  
We move in the tree streets  
I'd like it if you stayed_

I don't want to interfere with her singing; I'm too taken back by it to stop her. I etch forward slowly, trying to not make any loud noises to disrupt her. When I'm standing less than a meter from her head, I stop; she still hasn't noticed me. I examine her face, the light freckles sprinkled across her nose and upper-cheeks, her cheek bones that are tinged in a light pink, her eyelashes that flutter as she sings to the song. A few stands of her dark hair blow onto her face looking like curtains in the wind. I refrain from bending down and pushing the hair behind her cheek and looking into her pearly grey eyes. She comes to the last part of the song and I feel a smile spread across my face and I listen to her pull out the last note. She sighs loudly and then shift in her spot.

"HOLY SHIT!" she screams loudly when she notices me standing behind her "What the fuck are you doing?! You scared the fucking shit out of me!" she says loudly and I look to the sky to stop from laughing at her sudden reaction.

"Erghh… sorry" I say, letting out a little snort. I cover my mouth to stop from laughing and she rolls her eyes at me "no, really, I'm sorry… I umm..." I stutter but end up laughing loudly as she raises her eyebrows at me.

"Come to spy on me, bread boy?" She asks me and I stop laughing.

"Why wouldn't I want to spy on a pretty face like yours?" I ask her with a smirk, she switches back to her previous position; lying on her back with her knees bent.

"Has Finnick been giving you lessons on how to 'woo' a girl?" she asks me sarcastically and I shake my head at her, even though she is looking away from me.

"Why do you think I need Finnick's help? Aren't I charming enough?" I ask, walking over so I'm standing beside her on the blanket looking down at her. She looks up to me and smiles.

"Too charming for your own good" she says. She looks up to the sky that is now a flowing stream of orange. I slide down beside her on the blanket and join her in gazing at the sky.

"I love sunsets" I say after a few moments of silent sky watching. Her eyes flicker to mine and I can see my own reflection in the light grey orbs.

"It's your favorite colour" Katniss says pointing to the sky "right? Orange, like a sunset" she says and I nod with a smile.

"You remember?" I ask her happily and she nods. She remembers that conversation we had on the trip up here in the bus. That little detail fills me with joy and excitement and I feel like a school girl whose crush just said hi to them. My smile spreads even further and I look back to the sky hoping that she can't see how happy I am right now.

We continue to sit and enjoy each other's company for what seems like hours and hours. We talk about anything and everything, joke around and eat the food that Katniss bought. Slowly Katniss has edged closer to me until she finally placed her head on my chest and let me wrap my arm around her.

"Is that your favorite song?" I ask her, wanting the conversation to keep flowing even though the silence between us is comfortable.

"400 lux?" she asks and I nod, looking at the sky that is now an ocean of dark blue and twinkling stars. "No, not really, I love Lorde but it isn't my favorite song" she says and I begin to feel this need to know what her favorite song is.

"What is your favorite song then?" I push, wanting to know as much as I can about Katniss.

"I don't know, really. It changes with whatever way I'm feeling" she says, turning onto her side and propping her head up with her hand. I position myself in the same way so we are both looking at each other.

"What's your favorite song right now?" I ask her, watching her carefully to see how she reacts to the question. It is a little personal and could easily make certain people feel awkward but Katniss doesn't falter in her confident way. She scans me while thinking and I sit there waiting for her answer.

"I-I don't know" she says, interest filling her voice. I raise my eyebrows at her and she smirks a little.

"What song is your favorite right now?" she asks me, sounding curious now. This throws me off-guard. How should I respond to this…? I rack my brain for a song that will explain my feelings the right way.

"I wanna be yours by arctic monkeys" I say slowly, finally choosing. Her eyes seem to widen but then they fill with a mixture of worry, confusion and a hint of happiness "do you know the song?" I ask her carefully. She nods, a small smile on her lips that she looks scared to let spread to the rest of her face.

"Yeah, I love arctic monkeys" she says with a little chuckle. I lie back down on my back and look at the sky.

"Sing it" I say softly. I don't move my eyes from the sky, waiting for her response after a few moments of silence she begins to sing the song.

_I wanna be your vacuum cleaner  
Breathing in your dust  
I wanna be your Ford Cortina  
I won't ever rust  
If you like your coffee hot  
Let me be your coffee pot  
You call the shots babe  
I just wanna be yours_

Secrets I have held in my heart  
Are harder to hide than I thought  
Maybe I just wanna be yours  
I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours  
Wanna be yours, wanna be yours, wanna be yours

Let me be your 'leccy meter and I'll never run out  
And let me be the portable heater that you'll get cold without  
I wanna be your setting lotion (I wanna be)  
Hold your hair in deep devotion (How deep?)  
At least as deep as the Pacific Ocean  
I wanna be yours

Secrets I have held in my heart  
Are harder to hide than I thought  
Maybe I just wanna be yours  
I wanna be yours, I wanna be yours  
Wanna be yours, wanna be yours, wanna be yours  
Wanna be yours, wanna be yours, wanna be yours...

I wanna be your vacuum cleaner  
Breathing in your dust  
I wanna be your Ford Cortina  
I won't ever rust  
I just wanna be yours  
I just wanna be yours  
I just wanna be yours

She finishes the song and I finally take the chance to look at her. She looks scared and a little nervous. I begin to feel anxious about the bold move that I just made. I probably fucked things up again. She lets out a loud sigh and I decide I may as well push further because there is no going back now.

"What is your favorite song right now?" I ask her again and her eyes dart up to connect with mine. She studies me carefully and I try to stay confident under her unraveling gaze. She sighs and then looks down. I follow the line of her gaze and notice that she is fiddling with her hands.

"Don't know what else to do by the jungle giants" she says, looking back up to me. She lets out a light laugh and then her hands fall back to her hands "but I'm the guy, I'm the one singing the song" she says.

"I don't know that one, sing it for me" I say softly watching her like she is a wild animal that could flee any second now. She picks up her phone and begins to scroll through it, she clicks on something and then a soft melody flows through the small speakers on her phone. She begins to sing and I notice that the track she played hasn't got the words, just the music.

_Maybe there's a new reason to be true  
And it runs through your veins, straight to your brain  
Imagine if you can, a certain kind of man  
You wanna see now, you wanna see when  
You wake up_

I just wanted to see a different kind of me  
A million things, that make your head spin  
You could take a chance on that other boy's hand  
But it'll break your heart down, down to the ground  
Then you'll wake up  
You'll wake up

Love is irrelevant  
It's all about playing it cool  
I'm crazy for you girl  
That's why I gotta play it cool  
Don't know what else to do

Tell me what you want, just tell me what you want  
And I'll take you away, far from this place  
You could take a chance on that other boy's hand  
But it'll break your heart down, down to the ground  
Then you'll wake up  
You'll wake up

Love is irrelevant  
It's all about playing it cool  
I'm crazy for you girl  
That's why I gotta play it cool, yeah

Love is irrelevant  
It's all about playing it cool, yeah  
I'm crazy for you girl  
That's why I gotta play it cool

Don't know what else to do  
Don't know what else to do  
Don't know what else to do  
Don't know what else to do

To be honest… I'm completely confused. She said she takes the role of the guy singing the song… the guy that is singing the song about being crazy about a girl and trying to play it cool because he doesn't know what else to do.

"So… love is irrelevant, it's all about playing it cool and your crazy about a girl?" I ask her with a smirk. She shakes her head at me and gives me a soft shove.

"No, it's reversed the guy is me and the girl is a guy… if that makes sense" she says with a confused look on her face. I laugh at her attempt to explain what she means but I get it now. She thinks love is irrelevant, it's all about playing it cool and she's crazy about a guy. We sit there is silence for a while, just looking at each other. We are both on our sides, propping our heads up with our hands. She has a soft, neutral look on her face and she watches me.

"Who's the guy you're crazy about?" I ask her softly and her gaze swiftly moves away from me. She looks a bit stunned by my question but in the dim moonlight I can make out her blush tingling her tanned cheeks. The silence between us continues but I don't let my eyes move from her. After a while she finally looks back to me.

"You" she whispers and then leans forward and places a soft but caring kiss on my lips. I enjoy the bliss moment, taking in the feel of her lips, the smell of her and the touch of her skin on mine. I take in Katniss; the perfection before me.


	41. Made For Sneaking

**Im thinking of updating every second day now just because of tests at school and stuff. I wanna give **'stayaliveh' **a big thankyou for your 2 lovely reviews! They were so kind! I'm actually writing to other stories but I haven't posted them yet because I want to see if I like them! Okay… happy reading and PLEASE leave a review! :)**

**CH41 – Made for Sneaking**

Katniss POV

I lay on my back staring at the simple canvas roof of the tent as it whips in the wind. Trying to get to sleep is going to be futile and I know it. I relive the kiss over and over in my head; the events that panned out before it and the feel of his soft, slightly cracked lips on mine. What does this mean for _us_? Are we _together_? Or was it just another kiss? I sigh and roll over sluggishly onto my side to come face to face with Annie staring at me from her bed.

"Hi" I grumble, tired even though there was no way I was going to fall asleep. A small smile tweaks at Annie's lips.

"Hey" she replies, her usual high-pitched, sweet voice; lower and filled with tiredness. I let out an airy laugh and prop my head up with my hand.

"What are you doing still awake?" I ask her with a smirk. Even in her tired state she lets out a girly giggle, flipping on her back to look at the roof of the tent.

"Nothing" she says with a large smile. It's obvious when she says nothing that she doesn't mean _anything_. Something obviously happened with her and Finnick on their little _date._

"How was the movie?" I ask her knowingly and she lets out another giggle. She sits up and scans the room quickly. Johanna is asleep and so is the other girl that shares our tent.

"It was amazing, Katniss! We watched 'Charlie St. cloud' and cuddled and kissed" she says in a dreamy and excited voice. I laugh and flop my arm away from my head so that I fall back onto the pillow "what did you do?" she asks me and I smile widely as a warm feeling rushes through me.

"Nothing" I say, flipping so that I'm facing the tent wall trying to avoid her seeing my wide smile.

"Katniss, I have known you for years… _what_ did you do?" she asks me mischievously; probably knowing that I did something with Peeta.

"okay" I moan, flipping back to face her and sitting up like her, she smiles and repositions herself on her bed; ready to listen "I went into the forest to just chill for a while and I was listening to music and eating and stuff and _Peeta_ showed up out of nowhere! So we spent the evening talking, joking around, eating, watching the sky… you know that kinda stuff" I explain with a sheepish smile "anyway… he asked me what my favourite song was and I said it changes with what I'm feeling and I asked him his and he said 'I wanna be yours by arctic monke-"

"Oh my god! That is so cute! He is such a romantic!" Annie squeals loudly and I give her a 'shut the fuck up' look before scanning the tent to make sure she hasn't woken anyone; luckily they are still asleep.

"Yeah, anyway… then he asked me what mine was and I didn't know whether to make a bold move or just name some random son-" I begin but am cut off by Annie once again.

"Katniss! Me and Johanna told you that you should go out with him! Why are you still being so hesitant!" she whines loudly and I roll my eyes at her even though the tent is pitch black besides the dim lighting of the moon through the windows.

"Will you let me finish?" I growl at her and she shuts up immediately.

"Anyway…" I start, purposely dragging it out with a pissed tone "I decided to go with 'don't know what else to do by the jungle giants' but I told him that I was the guy that was singing it which kind of confused him. Do you know the song?" I ask her and she nods.

"yeah, the chorus goes like _Love is irrelevant, it's all about playing it cool, I'm crazy for you girl, that's why I gotta play it cool, don't know what else to do_" she sings along to the melody of the song. I nod my head and a large smile comes across her face "well what did he do?" she asks and I sigh.

"he asked me who I was crazy about and I said him and then we kissed and cuddled under the stars and then came back at camp ground curfew time and I came here and waited for you to get back and then we went to bed" I explain and she bobs her head in acknowledgement to my words.

"that is so cute!" she squeals in a quiet voice, I chuckle a little and flop back down onto my bed; my mind filled with the memories of Peeta and me under the stars tonight.

"I'm never going to get to sleep" I tell Annie and she giggles. I turn my head on my pillow and face her; she looks at me with a smirk.

"Neither" she says, shaking her head. I look back to the roof, thinking of the time I spent with Peeta and how good he made me feel. He was so fun and easy going while we joked around, he held me gently as I was cuddled into his side, he smiled at me with his gleaming teeth like there was no one like me; he made me feel needed and wanted. Peeta makes me feel so content and genuine. I really just want to see him right now, have his strong arms wrapped around me, his eyes looking into mine, his bright smile shinning at me.

"Let's go see them" I tell Annie, the idea popping into my head suddenly. I turn to look at her, all seriousness written on my face "let's go see Finnick and Peeta, now" I say and she looks surprised but excited.

"but its past tent curfew" she says, a hint of worry in her words. I check my phone and see that it is 1am so we _are_ meant to be in our tents with lights out but since when will that stop _me_?

"Come on, it will be fun" I whine to her, she still looks worried and hesitant about the idea "Annie, it's a camp, camps are made for sneaking around with boys and having fun! You _have_ to do this" I tell her with pleading eyes. She sighs loudly, getting up off her bed and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Fine!" she says and I run up to her and pull her into a hug while jumping up and down excitedly.

"This is going to be so much fun!" I say with a huge smile. The corners of her lips turn up and she smiles widely then breaks into a fit of giggling "should we bring Johanna?" I ask her; looking at Johanna's sleeping form; she is facing the tent wall with her sleeping bag wrapped around her, covering most of her face.

"If you bitches think you are leaving me here, you are wrong" I hear Johanna mumble. She is awake? Johanna flips around so that she is facing us. She looks tired; her hair sticking up all over the place and her eyelids droopy but she has a smirk on her face. I laugh and roll my eyes while Annie giggles continuously.

"You guys really need to learn to be quiet… Ms. Paylor or someone will wake up and catch you if you don't shut up" Johanna mumbles as she slips out of her sleeping bag cocoon. I nod my head and walk to my bag in need of something to put over my bra and underwear that I sleep in. I pull out a pair of baggy grey sweats and a white crop top. I slip on the sweats and they sit low on my hips and pull on the crop top that reaches only an inch below my boobs. I turn around to find Johanna in black leggings and a baggy grey sweatshirt and Annie wearing a pair of black girls sweats shorts and a light blue singlet.

"Good to go?" I ask them, they both nod and I turn to the tent door. I slowly unzip it trying to avoid any noise. I peek my head out and scan the darkness that is only lit by the moonlight. No one is out there so I turn back and nudge my head forward to tell Annie and Johanna that we are leaving. This is where the fun begins.


	42. It Matters To Me

**Had the day off school today so got a lot of writing done on both this and my other stories! :) I just wanted to say a big thankyou to all my continuous readers and reviewers… you guys are great! And to the guest that said the swearing take away from the story, I use swearing because most teenagers do it… it makes the story more **_**real**_**. I mean… I swear all the time so sorry if it offends you :) happy reading and please review!**

**CH42 – It Matters To Me**

Annie POV

We crossed over the large mass of grass; the small drew drops running against my bare feet. We tried to stick along the side, passing by the tents. I wasn't quite sure which tent was the boys so I was following close behind Katniss and Johanna's shadowy figures as they winded through tent after tent across the grass oval.

"Do you know which tent it is?" Katniss whispers as she scans the tents that we are passing.

"Umm… it's just up here… I think" Johanna says drawing out the 'I think'. I roll my eyes as I quickly shift through the grass. To say I'm nervous… is an understatement. This is the most _out-there_ thing I have ever done… I am one of those people that follow the rules but running around in the middle of the night to see Finnick just feels so _right_.

"Okay this one here" Johanna says, coming to a halt out the front of a dark blue tent. I giggle a little as the excitement and giddiness of what we are doing begins to rush through me. She slowly unzips the tent door and takes a step in. I step in as well but am abruptly pushed out by a frantic Johanna. She slips back out of the tent and quickly zips it up. I watch her in confusion as she swiftly spins around and faces us with a shocked but humorous face.

"Not their tent" she says and I feel the smile crack out onto my face. Johanna laughs and then turns back around; sneakily walking off in the direction of a larger grey tent.

"Is this one it?" Katniss asks sarcastically with a smile. Johanna nods but she has a weary look on her face; I don't think she is that sure about the tent. I laugh and shake my head a little. Katniss reaches out and unzips the tent door. She sticks her head in and I'm over taken by anticipation. I shift my weight continuously until Katniss pulls her head back out and smiles at me and Johanna. She dips her head back into the tent and then completely emerges herself inside it. I switch my gaze to Johanna and she shrugs. We wait patiently as rustling and laughing comes from the tent.

I start to become impatient after about 5 minutes of standing outside the tent aimlessly. Suddenly Katniss slips back out of the tent wearing a huge smile, she is pulling someone by the arm but I can't tell who until they are completely in the open. It's Peeta and he looks extremely tired but overly happy at the same time. Finnick barges through the tent door after him; his tired figure almost crashing into me. I roll my eyes at him but he just smirks sleepily. Then finally Gale struts out, his back hunched and his head sagging; he looks the tiredest.

"What are you doing here" Finnick asks in a groggy, tired voice and I assume that he was asleep before we showed up and I can't help but laugh. He stretches his arms upward into the air causing his shirt to ride up and revealing his 'v'. Someone nudges my shoulder and I turn to look at them. Johanna is watching me with a smirk, I just roll my eyes.

"We couldn't sleep" I say with a small smile. Finnick's eyes dart to mine and his face lights up; a wide smile falling onto his face and his eye twinkling.

"Well you woke me from an _amazing_ dream" Finnick says and I feel a pang of hurt at the fact that he was able to fall asleep while I was tossing and turning; thinking about him.

"No one wants to hear about your dream about Annie, I heard about last night's one already" Johanna says with a smirk. I flush a bright red and my gaze falls to the ground. After a few moments I look back up to see Finnick with a smirk looking smug but I can see the hint of embarrassment.

"Let's go to the beach" Katniss says with a glance to the gate that leads down there. I begin to feel nervous… I didn't think we would be going to the beach. I just thought we would stop by Finnick's tent and talk. I fidget with the sleeve of my shirt as everyone begins to agree with her starting with Gale.

It gets around to my turn to answer and I just shrug. Finnick seems to notice my uncomfort and slips an arm around my waist in a way that no one else will notice. I look up to him to find him staring down at me with concerned but pleading eyes.

"It's alright, Annie… it will be fun" he says with a teasing smile and I know I won't be able to say no to it. I sigh and nod my head, moving closer into his chest not caring if anyone else sees us but the voice returns.

_They probably think you're a skank_

I clench my eyes shut, trying to stop the voice but it doesn't work.

_They know that it is all a joke to Finnick_

_Stop thinking anything good would happen to you!_

I shake my head slightly and open my eyes, whispering 'stop' so quietly that no one can hear it but it doesn't work.

_You aren't wanted!_

_You are a lonely and depressed girl!_

_YOU ARE SO FUCKING SAD!_

I quickly budge out of Finnick's arms and stand by myself, my breathing heavy and my heart-beat racing as the tears threaten to spill. Finnick looks at me with concerned eyes but I ignore him completely, focusing on slowing my racing heart and stopping the threatening tears.

No one else has seemed to notice my sudden movements and is beginning to walk towards the gate that leads to the beach. I swiftly rub away the tears in my eyes and begin to walk to the beach, leaving Finnick behind me looking at me confused.

I watch the grass, swaying in the wind as my feet pull me forward, following behind the larger group as they chatter and laugh; trying to keep quiet but failing. Someone grabs my wrist and swings me around. In front of me stands Finnick looking worried as he looks into my eyes. I move my head to the side; away from his desperate orbs.

"Annie what's wrong?" he asks me, moving his head so he is leaning down and facing me. I shake my head and look the other way. He moves his head again so he is looking at me "tell me, Annie" he says in a pleading voice that breaks my heart. I take a deep breath and shake my head again.

"It doesn't matter, Finnick" I mutter, trying to pull my wrist from his grip in vain. His hold is too strong for me.

"Annie, it does matter to me" he says softly but the voice begins to scream in my head again.

_He's faking it!_

_Why would he ever care for you!_

_You need to get over yourself! _

"Finnick! Just stop! Leave me alone!" I snap. Finnick's grip loosens on my wrist as the shock registers on his face. I quickly slip my arm out of his hand and run through the gate to catch up with the others who are already down near the shore. I don't dare look back at Finnick instead focus on my breathing which is heavy again; trying to calm it.

A picture of Finnick's face pops into my head and I take in his profile even though I'm willing myself to banish the picture. His firm jaw with stubble lining it, his messy bronze hair, the pained look in his eyes as I run off but the small voice decides to make a visit; saying only one sentence but one sentence that is so powerful.

_Why would someone as good as Finnick, want anything to do with such a boring, hag like you._


	43. A White Lie

**I just realised that I they only have like 6 days left on the camp :O I have to finish this story soon! But don't worry I have more ideas up my sleeve! I reached 100 reviews yesterday! Thankyou everyone! Happy reading and please review! :)**

**CH43 – A White Lie**

Gale POV

We reach the beach and all pauses to look at the still water. The moon dances like diamond glints on the dark & tranquil sea as the waves rise up and crash down in a gurgle of bubbles. We all stand there staring at the calm water until Johanna breaks the silence.

"Let's go for a swim, bitches!" she shouts, stripping off her top and flinging it to the side of her care-free. I quickly turn to look at her with a surprised look. She smirks at me then runs towards the ocean screaming playfully while pulling at her leggings. I laugh and then pull my sweatshirt over my head; ditching it on the floor and then turning around the face everyone else.

"You guys coming?!" I ask them with a large grin. Peeta shakes his head with a smirk, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm going to chill on the beach for a bit, but go. Have fun" he says, looking slightly proud of himself, I roll my eyes at him and turn to Annie. She looks weary and scared but nods her head.

"I'll come" she says pulling down her sweat shorts but leaving her singlet on. I look to Finnick who is standing behind everyone looking solemn as he looks out to the ocean, taking no notice of us.

"Finnick?" I ask him, pulling him from his daze. He shakes his head and looks to me, more alert now "you coming for a swim?" I ask him. He nods once and slips his shift over him, placing it in the sand behind him and stalking off towards the water. What is with him?

I turn to Katniss and she just shakes her head without needing me to ask.

"Nah, I'm going to sit here for a bit" she says with a small smile as she watches Johanna spin around in the water; screaming loudly.

"Your loss" I say with a shrug off my shoulders as I strip down my sweats so all I'm wearing is my boxers and sprint towards the water where Johanna and Finnick are swimming. Annie follows behind me. I dive into the water and re-emerge; wiping my face from the dripping water and running through the water over to Johanna. I grab her from behind as she holds her arms in the air screaming loudly. I pick her up and swing her around as she kicks and laughs.

"Gale!" she whines loudly as she giggles. I slip her back down into the refreshing water and spin her around so she is facing me.

"This is fun" I tell her and she nods with a big smile that reaches her eyes, making them glisten under the reflection of the water. I let go of her and fall back into the water, creating a large splash. Johanna laughs and joins me; floating on her back, facing the twinkling sky. I notice Finnick standing awkwardly in the water with Annie by his side a few feet away. They are both watching the water; Annie running her hands through it tenderly while Finnick stares blankly at it. What's with those 2? They are so fidget and awkward right now. I decide that I need to fix whatever _funk_ they are in.

I cough and bring Finnick and Annie's attention to me while Johanna continues to gaze into the sky, oblivious to the rest of us.

"How are you guys?" I ask them, running my hand through my wet hair as I watch them. They both shrug and go back to watching the water. I sigh loudly causing both of them to look back up to me with furrowed eye-brows.

"I'm just going to say it, because I'm not good with this kind of shit… but what the fuck is wrong with you 2? Why are you ignoring each other?" I ask them straight-forward. Their eyes both flare with anger and then calm to annoyance. They are more alike than they probably like to admit.

"It's none of your business" Annie says through clenched teeth and I narrow my eyes at her. This is the first time she has ever kept something for me. Being so close with Annie and Katniss; we told each other everything… What has gotten into her?

"Annie… I have known you for, what, 5 years? And you have never kept something from me, spill it!" I tell her and her scowl fades and she glances at Finnick before looking back to me.

"I just need space" she says quietly and I nod my head. I know what she actually wants; she wants someone to talk to. She _needs _someone to talk to… but she doesn't want it to be Finnick. Finnick looks up to me and I nod my head in the direction of Johanna, hoping he would take the hint. He does and swims over in her direction leaving me and Annie alone.

"Hey, Annie… what's wrong?" I ask her, pulling her into my arms and giving her a tight hug. She shakes her head against my chest and sighs.

"They have come back, Gale… the voices" she whispers and I feel my heart clench. Not again. This can't be happening again. My breath becomes shaky and I hold her tighter against my chest, willing myself not to shout at her from the pain.

"Annie, it's alright, I'm going to help you! We got through this once, we can do it again" I tell her, trying to believe it myself. I am willing myself not to break down for her sake. I can't crumble on her when she needs me right now. This started happening a year ago when she was being bullied by Glimmer at school. She told me that she started hearing voices in her head, putting her down, at the time I didn't think anything of it but it got really bad. Glimmer continued to bully her until she couldn't take it anymore so she tried to commit suicide... twice. Me and Katniss did everything we could to help her get better, it hurt her… it hurt her bad and she never completely healed back to the perky, happy Annie.

I squeeze my eyes shut and pull her closer to my chest as she begins to cry quietly against my chest.

"Annie, me and Katniss are here for you, remember?" I say to her comfortingly. She nods against my chest but her cries become louder.

This can't happen. Not again. Not to Annie, the sweet, loving girl who wouldn't hurt a fly. What is with this world and punishing those who have done nothing wrong while rewarding the ones who hurt us with the satisfaction of our pain?

An image of Annie's limp body came into my head. Her pale skin and closed eyes. The emptiness and the coldness. Her head face down into the water, her hair floating around her. The way I found her a year ago, in the river; completely still.

Then a picture of the blood pouring from her arm, the red dripping to the ground. The way her eyes were filled with tears but in a way looked happy. Her crooked smile that took over her face as she watched the slices in her arm ooze with the thick, red liquid. The way I found her a year ago, in her bathroom; dripping with blood.

Both times it was me who found her. I rushed her to the hospital where they saved her. I am so relieved I found her before she did something that would ruin me forever but at the same time, I hate it. To see her, the way I did. Completely limp and dripping with blood. It was horrible.

I sigh loudly into her hair then pull her back to arm's length, looking into her green eyes and giving her the best reassuring smile that I can manage.

"We are going to be alright, Annie" I whisper and she nods her head solemnly.


	44. The Two Of Us

**Yesterday **'lissyhutcherson'** answered my question for AGES ago… I asked what age do you guys think I am. But that was when I didn't have many followers/favourite-rs… sooo now that I do! How old **_**do**_** you guys think I am? **

**Anyway happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH44 – The Two Of Us**

Peeta POV

I relax into the ground as the sand moulds to my body structure. This trip has been great so far; an escape from life but nothing comes without a price; there has been drama. Nothing big obviously but the little things like Gale seeing me and Katniss kiss and Cato and Katniss' break up.

But without this trip I would never have become close with Katniss.

Back at school we belonged to 2 different groups; 2 different sets of people. She was with Gale and Annie and I was with Finnick, Johanna, Thresh, Marvel, Rue, Delly, Madge and a lot of other people. You would never have seen us becoming friends back at school but here; here is different. I smile broadly at myself. Finally I have become friends with the girl I have had a crush on forever _and_ I have kissed her. My smile quickly fades… what does that mean, what does Katniss see me as? A friend? Boyfriend? Something else? Where do we sit now? I sigh loudly as my head begins to spin from the thinking. Why is it so difficult? I mean I should just go ask her out. I should fucking man up and just do it!

"What ya thinkin' 'bout?" Katniss asks. I quickly sit up and look at her. She sits to the left of me in the sand, looking out to the ocean where the others swim in the dim lighting of the moon. It's peaceful on the beach at night, the darkness creating a sense of solitude.

"This trip, school, everything" I say leaving out the 'us' part. She smiles but doesn't look at me; instead she continues to stare at the water.

"Contemplating life, hey" she says humorously. I chuckle and nod but the thought of asking her, right now, what I mean to her is running through my mind. How do you go about something like this? I have never asked someone out! This shit is so complicated. I sigh and run my hands up and down my face fiercely, trying to rub away the thought.

"What are you _really_ thinking about?" she asks, her tone more serious and curious. I look up at her, looking for the right answer to her question but my mind blanks out as I watch her. The dimness of our surroundings causes her pupils to get lost in her iris', creating a circle of black in her eyes, her hair sways in the wind blissfully and her mouth is slightly parted and so tempting.

"You" I whisper and I find myself startled that I actually said that. I watch; waiting for her to run off or say 'I'm not ready for this, Peeta' but she doesn't. She stays in her place; sitting in the sand. Her mouth twists up into a smile and I feel myself returning it whole-heartedly.

"Me too" she says and I am completely stunned. Where did this come from? Was it the kiss last night? Because just before that she was all 'I'm not ready for this Peeta, I just want to be friends'. I sit up straighter and turn to I'm facing her completely, my legs crossed. I try to read her face but come up short. I can see emotion there but I don't know what it is.

"Katniss…" I say lowly and her face drops. A look of nervousness coming over her face "we need to talk about us" I say, looking into her eyes and holding her gaze confidently even though I'm shit scared. Her eyes seem to soften and her shoulders relax, she looks relieved.

"Yeah I know" she admits and I feel _myself_ relaxing. At least she hasn't stomped away shouting at me, that's a start. I shift in the sand and run my hand through my hair.

"What are we?" I ask her, my eyebrows furrowed with curiosity. She lets out a sigh and shifts so that she too, is facing me completely.

"I know I pushed you away when you said you wanted to be more on the kayak and then I kissed you the other day and now I haven't spoken to you until now. To be honest I'm still confused, myself, as what my actions were" she says letting out a nervous laugh that makes me smile. "I just… I have only known you for 8 days… and I feel so protective over you. I want to make sure nothing hurts you and it scares me. The only person that I want to protect so strongly is Prim but I'm doing a pretty shit job at that right now" she says, mumbling the last bit quietly. I place my arm on her bare thigh and her eyes travel up my arm until they meet mine and I give her a comforting smile.

"Katniss, it scares me as well… I mean… you are the first person that I have wanted to be _more than friends_ with" I say with a shaky voice but the smile that appears on her lips completely wipes away my nerves and brings me a new burst of confidence. "I really like you… like _really_ like you" I say with a laugh which she joins in with "and I know I have only known you for a week, but I feel so strongly for you and I don't want anyone else to be able to touch you"

"Peeta… tomorrow, well actually today knowing its past 1am… lets go back to the meadow, just the two of us" she says with a shy smile and red cheeks. She looks really hot right now.

"Like a date?" I ask her hopefully, she hesitates for a few moments then nods and I light up. I feel like shouting and dancing but refrain from doing it because I know she will scowl at me so instead I just nod with a huge smile. Katniss smiles back at me and then gets up, out of the sand. She brushes the sand off her ass and legs and then reaches her hand out to me.

"Come on, let's go swim" she says with a mischievous grin on her lips. She sticks her hand out to me and I look at it for a few seconds before taking it in my own. I strip off my top and shoes with a smile while Katniss stands there and watches me. Once I'm done I look up to her confused.

"What are you doing?" I ask her with a confused look on my face. Her cheeks blush and she drops her eyes to the sand to hide it.

"You look really good" she whispers and I stand there in shock for a few seconds. I then chuckle happily at her. Her eyes flow back up to my face and she rolls her eyes. She pulls off her white crop-top, revealing her lacy black bra then slides down her old sweats revealing a matching pair of lacy, black boy-shorts. I let my eyes wander over her body, from her chest to her legs. She really is something.

"Come on! Let's go!" she says, bolting for the water, leaving me behind in the sand watching her run. I shake my head and get up and bolt after her.


	45. The Full Extent

**Holy shit! Today's Pretty little liars episode was extreme! I'm pissed we still didn't find out who A is though! And Ezra might of died! I love ezra :(((( Anyway after that little fangirl…**

**Im a little disappointed that still no one answered my question :( soo…**

**HOW OLD DO YOU THINK I AM?**

**Did that get your attention? HAHAHAH I just want to know for the fun of it ;) anyway I also would like to know if anyone knows any good hunger games fanfic's… please PM me! I need to read some new ones! Happy reading and please leave a review!**

**CH45 – The Full Extent**

Annie POV

"Katniss, its happening again for god's sake, we can't just pretend that it isn't!" Gale hisses in a whisper. I strain my ears to hear their conversation, trying to make out their words.

"It can't be happening again!" Katniss whispers back with an edgy tone. I peek my head around the corner of the wall to see Gale standing awkwardly close to Katniss as they whisper between themselves. I pull my head back and close my eyes, trying to focus only on their words.

"Well it is! And we can't just deny it! We have to help her; I can't go through finding her the way I did the last 2 times!" Gale snaps, raising his voice louder than a whisper. I cringe at the thought of Gale seeing me in the state that he did. He saved me. I slide down the rough wall so my knees are tucked into my chest.

"Is this going to be the final one, Gale" Katniss asks him really quietly that I perk my head up to try and hear "is she going to be able to go through it again or is this the last straw?" she says and I can hear the sadness and despair in her voice.

"I won't let it be" Gale says firmly. My mind begins to spin. _Is _this the last straw? _Will_ I be able to go through it again? I have experienced this so many times, the voices that haunt me all the time but will I be able to do it again? I feel myself want to break down and scream but I hold it in, wrapping my arms around my legs as if it were holding together all my broken pieces.

"What is it this time? What is causing the voices?" Katniss asks and I sit there stunned. What is it this time? They all revolve around Finnick. Is it Finnick that is bringing the voices back? It can't be because Finnick makes me feel good, but he does bring the voices with him. I sigh loudly and then cover my mouth with my hand hoping that Katniss and Gale didn't hear me. I sit absolutely still for a few seconds waiting for them to stomp up to me and get annoyed for my eavesdropping. I squeeze my eyes shut as I hear the loud footsteps approaching me as if they were coming to kill me. They stop suddenly, only a few feet from me. There is an eerie silence for a few seconds and I open my eyes, expecting Gale and Katniss to be towering over me but instead I find Finnick looking worried and resilient.

"Finnick" I breathe, looking at his strained face as he looks at me in my broken state; sitting on the floor with my legs tucked into me and one of my arms wrapped around them desperately, my other hand covering my mouth as my eyes brim with tears. He sighs and then sits beside me.

"What wrong, Annie?" Finnick asks, staring at my legs that I'm still clinging to hysterically. I haven't told him the full extent of the voices. I never told him about Glimmer or the suicide attempts and I don't know if I'm ready to or not.

"I-I don't know" I stutter, shaking my head against the wall, not caring about the painful grazing. I can no longer hear Katniss and Gale whispering so I guess they left to go talk somewhere else or something. I sigh and rub my hands over my face.

"Annie you can tell me" Finnick says "You can tell me anything, I'm here for you, I want to know everything about you, I want to help the pain, I want to make you happy… _please_ just let me make you happy" He says desperately and I avoid his eyes hoping that if I don't look at him, the voices wont creep into my head. "Please" he pleads attentively. I have 2 options, push Finnick away and let the voices in my head disappear until something else happens to bring them back or let Finnick in and see if he can actually make me happy.

I contemplate the 2 ways of trying to find happiness in the confusion of my life. Weighing up the options before responding to Finnick. It's a few minutes until I respond to Finnick. I take a big breath and close my eyes.

"It all started a year ago…"

**Time lapse**

"So the voices are back because of me?" he asks, sorriness and hurt written all over his delicate face, it breaks my heart to see him so sad.

"yes, but not in that way though, they say that I'm not good enough for you, I mean we _do _come from 2 different worlds" I say, rubbing my hand up and down my arm as I watch the small grains of sand that are scattered along the pavement.

"Annie, I care for you though, you have grown on me, I will never hurt you" he says in a soft voice that seems so different to his normal personality. His caring dialect and relaxed features make a smile spread across my face. He gives me one back but I can see the sorriness behind it. We sit in silence for a few minutes as I try to collect my thoughts and organise them into some something reasonably understandable.

"Let's go have some fun, Annie" Finnick says with a big grin spread wide across his perfect face. I feel the effect of his smile rush through me in a wave of tingling. I nod my head at him, standing from my spot of the ground and against the wall and grab his hand. He begins to pull me along the pathway; to where I don't know but I don't care. Being spontaneous with Finnick just seems so right…. Different but right. I giggle as he drags me across the grass oval. I find it strange how easily Finnick can make me feel better after explaining such a delicate and hard issue for me. It amazes me that someone that causes the voices can also take them away.

"Come on, Annie! Hurry up!" he says, pulling me in the direction of a forest trail that I have never noticed. I stumble on my feet as I try and keep up with Finnick's fast, excited pace.

"Where are you taking me?!" I ask him we go past the tree lining. Finnick slows down to a walk but still keeps hold of my hand strongly as he leads me deeper and deeper on the forest trail. The light shines through the small cracks between the leaves lighting up the trail in a mystical way. The birds and other creatures scatter and chirp as they hear our movement. I let my eyes scan over the area enchanted. This place seems so bliss and magical like it belongs in a fairy tale book.

"we will get their soon" he tells me, gesturing out in front of us to the trail that I can see twining far into the forest. A smile spreads my face as I think of what could be at the end. I let go of his hand and begin to run down the trail, twirling and spreading my arms out wide as Finnick laughs behind me. I turn to face him, slowing my pace so that he can catch up.

"Come on!" I say to him and he shakes his head at me with a smirk. I turn back around and walk through the forest in the blissfulness. I let out a sigh, throwing my head back and looking up at the tree canopy above me. I'm amazed the voices haven't come back to me yet. But just the thought of it triggers them.

_You're falling for his tricks_

_You're so stupid_

_Why don't you listen to me, you stupid hag!_

I stop suddenly in my tracks, frozen in place as I look at the endless path ahead of me. The noises of the forest begin to quieten until they are just a hum and the voices continue to pound in my head.

_Ha Ha Ha You are so sad!_

_Why do you think Finnick is serious about you?_

_You're a no one!_

"Annie!" Finnick shouts bring me out of the darkness of the voices statements and back to reality with him. "Annie, what they are saying isn't true, I care for you" he whispers and I nod. He pulls me into a hug and I push my head onto his shoulder, holding back the tears. After a few moments I pull back and look at him.

"let's go" I say softly and he nods, he grabs my hand and we walk down the trail to the mysterious destination.

After about 5 more minutes of walking the trees thin out until they completely disappear and leave a large open waterfall and lake in front of me, shining in the mid-day sun.

"Wow" is all I am able to say as I take in the large area "how did you find this?" I ask him, turning to face his perfect face. He smiles down at me with those green eyes that make me melt.

"I went for a walk and stumbled upon it" he says with a smile. How could he get any more perfect and beautiful. With a surge of confidence I stand on my tippy-toes and kiss him softly. He deepens the kiss passionately. We kiss until I pull away with the need for air.

"Thankyou" I murmur and he nods at me with another one of his perfect smiles.


	46. Dark Freckle And Chocolate Hair

**Yay! You guys answered my question! I just thought I would tell you that none of you got it right! HAHAHAHA! Anyway want to say hi to all my new readers! And a big thanks to all my since-the-beginning readers you guys are amazing! Well enjoy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH46 – Dark Freckles and Chocolate Hair**

Peeta POV

"Who's hotter, me or…. Dave Franco?" I ask her jokingly. She spins around and sits up so she can scan my face. Her eyes flutter across my profile and then down my body. She sits in silence as she looks over me and I watch her.

"Hmm… Dave Franco, sorry. But you do have a better body than him" she says with a smile. I shake my head at her and smirk. Her smile grows and she lies back down against my chest.

"What about Eric Dane, am I hotter than him?" I ask her, I feel her nod against my chest and I chuckle. Well at least I sit above him.

"He's too old to be hot" she says, her words muffled by my shirt. I laugh and she joins in. We sit there cuddled up against each other in silence for a few minutes as she draws warming shapes across my chest with her fingertips. I watch the sun splayed out across the sky its rays flashing down on our still bodies.

"What about Zac Efron?" I ask her, breaking the ongoing silence. She laughs loudly and I cock my head slightly to look down at her, but I can't see her face because it is covered with her waterfall of brown hair.

"Zac Efron is hotter than everyone, you're just going to have to get used to it" she tells me. I shake my head at her with a smirk. We came out to the meadow like we said we would. She led the way because I was bound to get lost in the maze of identical green trees surrounding us. We have been out here for around an hour or so but we haven't talked about the stuff that we actually _needed_ to talk about; instead we have just been chatting and joking or sitting in comfortable silence. Katniss seems off though. She has been so quiet and thoughtful, the whole time we have been out here but im scared to ask her why.

It could just be _because_ we are out here and the fact that we came out here to talk about _us._ But I don't think it is. It seems like something else is on her mind.

"Am I hotter than Amber heard?" she asks me. I rack my brain for who Amber Heard is… I don't even think I know her. I narrow my eyes in confusion.

"Who is Amber Heard?" I ask her and she laughs into my chest, sending vibrations though my body.

"The chick off 'Drive Angry' and 'The Rum Diary'…" she says but I'm still don't know who she is. I think I watched Drive Angry a few years back but I can't picture the girl in it. "Oh my god! How can you not know her?! I will get a picture" she says in frustration. I can't help but smile, she looks so cute like this, all determined and frustrated. She arches her back and pulls her phone out of her back pocket. I watch her carefully as she unlocks it and types 'Amber Heard' into google. It comes up with loads of images and Katniss quickly selects one.

"Her!" she says, thrusting the phone into my face. It's a picture of a girl with light brown hair that fades into blonde at the tips. She is wearing a white button-up shirt that is undone but she is wearing some sort of maroon-ish 2 piece underneath. Her arm is arched and weaves through her hair that flows messily down around her neck. To be honest; she is really hot and she doesn't look too slutty either.

"Her or me?" Katniss asks and I look at the picture and then back to Katniss. I think they would look the same if Katniss had blondish-brown hair.

"Equal" I say and I can tell Katniss is trying to keep back a smile. I watch her face as she does something on her phone. Her eyebrows pull together slightly and her lips part as she stares at her phone. The freckles spread across her face look even darker in the mid-day sun. Her hair is salty and dry but looks so perfect rippling down her shoulders and back.

"What about Meghan Fox?" she says and I look back to the phone. There is a picture of her from 'Transformers' looking at the engine of a car.

"Meghan, sorry Katniss" I tell her and she frowns at me which causes me to laugh. I pull her closer to me and nuzzle my head into her chocolate hair that flows down like a waterfall. Each hair strand was shining in the light. I inhaled deeply and the scent of caramel and salt engulfed me. Her hair was a tangled mess because of going to the beach every day.

I repositioned her head so it was on my lap and she didn't refuse as I ran my hands through her hair, removing the knots and tangles.

"Are you okay?" I ask her softly, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness that has settled around us.

"mmhmm" she mumbles, closing her eyes.

"Are you sure?" I push. She opens her eyes slowly and turns to face me, she looks sleepy but it's cute.

"It's just stuff with Annie, but I can't get you involved, it isn't my story to tell" she says with a sigh. She turns her head back and closes her eyes again. Should I start talking to her about _us_ if she is already burdened with something involving Annie? I don't want to stress her out or pressure her to do anything but I need answers.

"Don't worry, Peeta… I know we need to talk" she says as If she could read my mind. I relax a little and run my hand through my mattered hair.

"Do you want to talk now?" I ask her cautiously. She nods her head against my lap then sits back up with her legs crossed underneath her, facing me. I smile wearily at her and she gives me a more confident one back.

"Okay, we aren't leaving here until we have said everything we need to" she says and I nod in agreement "so… where the fuck do we start?" she says with a light laugh.

"Well, how _do _you feel about me?" I ask her, making the first move so we didn't end up in an awkward silence where neither of us wants to say anything. They are just shit.

"I have told you this already… I care about you, like how I care about Prim; I'm scared though because I have only known you for 9 days now. Isn't it all happening to fast?" she asks, looking me right in the eye; her confidence not wavering.

"we have been spending almost every minute of those 9 days together… so if you think about it those 9 days equal like 15 in a normal relationship were they aren't stuck on a camp together" I say, scrunching my face up as I talk realising how confusing that was. Katniss laughs and nods.

"I guess so… What about Gale?" she says and I freeze. _What about Gale?_ He has nothing to do with this. Katniss doesn't have feelings for him, he has to get used to it. I feel like spitting that straight into her face but think better of it because it's probably just a bit too harsh.

"If you don't like him, he needs to move on. Involving him in things like this isn't going to help him in anyway" I say softly and I'm amazed I could stay so calm. She sighs and nods her head.

"I know, it's just… I feel bad about it" she says, her eyes sad and slightly pissed. I grab her hand and rub soothing circles on it. Another silence falls over us filled with anticipation and tension but it still seems to be comfortable.

"I like you Katniss" I say, she looks up to me; her deep brown eyes settling on mine " I like you a lot and I know I have asked you before but…. B-but… wha-what if… why d-don't" I pause, taking a deep breath as a smile grows on Katniss' face and she watches me stutter through what I'm trying to say.

"katnisswillyoubemygirlfriend" I gush and she cocks her head to the side, not understanding what the flow of words were. I feel like a pre-puberty kid asking out his crush. I take another deep breath and look right into Katniss' eyes "Katniss… will you be my girlfriend?"


	47. Change Of Plan

**I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday after I left you with that cliff-hanger! I had a job trial during the day and then a friend's birthday dinner at night! Was super busy! Anyway here are the answers to all your questions from the last chapter! Thankyou for all the lovely reviews! They really do bring a smile to my face! Anyway happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH47 – Change Of Plan**

Katniss POV

My mind completely blanks out as if someone went in and deleted every valid thought. My mouth is slightly parted as I struggle to get air into my lungs. I watch him as he sits their waiting for me to respond but I can't do anything; I'm frozen. I open my mouth with the idea of speaking but I don't know what to say so I close my mouth again. Breathe Katniss. Just breathe. I take deep breaths as my mind begins to restart and function again. I become dizzy as all the different thoughts begin to buzz through my brain that is only partially working.

"Katniss?" Peeta says hesitantly as he watches my reaction. It's probably not the best way to react to someone asking you out.

"I-I… Peeta" I say and is comes out in raspy, uneven breaths. Before I realise what I'm doing; I begin to nod, my head acting on its own agenda. Peeta's face seems to light up slightly but still looks unsure with my response. This moment seems so right, like it is meant to be but my mind is telling me something else. I have only known him for 8 days. Sure, we have gone to school together for years but does that change anything?

"Yes" the word slips from my mouth suddenly and I surprise myself. Peeta's eyes go wide just like mine did moments ago when he asked me out but instead of gaping like a fish out of water, Peeta is wearing a huge smile as his eyes shine at me. _Did I just say YES! _Holy shit. Peeta is my boyfriend. I am Peeta's girlfriend. My face lights up in a huge smile as I look at the adoration and lust written on his face. He looks like a kid who just got given full access to a candy store.

"Yes?" Peeta asks, he is obviously shocked with my answer and to be honest so am I.

"Yes!" I repeat with a bit more confidence as I watch his smile grow even larger even though I thought that would be impossible. I drive forward suddenly, tackling Peeta onto his back in the grassy meadow and kiss him. A feeling of hunger indulges me and I push every inch of my body against his. Peeta's warm breath flows into my open mouth as he gasps at my sudden outburst for intimacy. I bask in Peeta's touch. The way his lips collide with mine and the feeling of reassurance for my answer emits from him. Images of Peeta and me and our times together flood through me and I feel a smile creep onto my lips as I apply more pressure to Peeta's mouth.

After a while Peeta pulls away taking large gasps of air into his mouth, never breaking our eye contact. I smile through my pants and he smiles back.

"I never thought I would live to see the day" Peeta says with a croaky laugh as he continues to regain his breath. I shake my head at him with a smirk.

"You're just lucky the bus didn't crash on the way here" I say laying down on his chest and staring out into the dense forest. My life just changed. Sure I have had boyfriends; 5 of them… but Peeta seems different, I care for him more than I cared for any of the others, I became fond of him quicker than any of the others, i want him more than I wanted any of the others.

He runs his hands through my hair reminding me he is here; that he is mine. I sigh, happy with my life. At this moment every problem I have ever had seems to just disappear. I close my eyes and listen closely to Peeta's raged breath and the accelerated rate of his heartbeat. The grass whisks around us as I chilly breeze runs through the broad meadow with no trees for protection. I shiver and snuggle further into Peeta's arm with the need for the warmth radiating from his body. Even though the sun is out and is searing my skin, the bitter wind is cold and me, being me forgot a jumper.

Peeta untucks his arm from against my body and I begin to feel unwanted until he wraps it under my head and around my shoulder. I sigh, thankful that he is so thoughtful.

I feel myself begin to doze off until the buzzing of my phone brings me back to consciousness. I pull it out of my back pocket and unlock it; going straight to the texting app.

**Prim:** y havnt u been txting me!? I need 2 kno what is happening in ur life! How is Peeta? How is the trip? What have you been doing? How is Annie and Gale? Are you having fun? Txt me already! Xx

I shake my head at the text. Of course she would text me _right_ now, not later when I'm alone. I turn my head and see that Peeta is trying to peek at my text.

"Hey!" I say, turning the phone away from him and frowning. He looks down at me and laughs loudly. I roll my eyes and nudge away from him slightly so I can look at him easier.

"Who are you texting?" he asks me after his laughter has died down. I look at my phone and then back to him.

"We are not doing this again" I tell him, trying to be serious but laughing. He smirks playfully as he eyes me up and down.

"If it leads to where it did last time, I'm happy to" he says in a husky voice. I roll over so I'm laying on top of him, looking down into his bright blue eyes. Slowly I lean forward to kiss him but just as my lips brush his I pull back and place my phone on his face and begin to text prim back.

"Hey, that's not fair" Peeta mumbles against my phone and I laugh at him.

**Me:** hey little duck! I hav been busy sorry! Camp has been great! I have BIG news! How's Rory?

Once I have finished the text and have hit send I more my phone off of Peeta's face and smile down at him. He scowls but it disappears in seconds, his wide grin replacing it.

"So who were you texting?" he asks me curiously. I bury my head into his neck, hiding my face from him as my hair flows over his face and shoulders. I don't want to talk. I want to sit here and listen to Peeta's heart beat and kiss him.

"Prim" I mumble into his shoulder.

"What did she want?" he asks me and I sigh. Pulling my head away from his shoulder, I look at him.

"She wanted to know about you" I tell him with a smirk. His face lights up the millionth time in the last 30 minutes. I fiddle with the phone in my left hand as he watches me carefully. I unlock the phone just as another text comes through; I open it up and read it.

**Prim:** its good that u r havin fun! U deserve it! Rory is good, we went on another date the other night and it was fun :) might have kissed a few times ;) WHATS UR BIG NEWS?!

I look quickly to Peeta, trying to figure out the right way to tell Prim that I have a new boyfriend after just 8 days of being single. I look back to my phone and begin to type.

**Me:** well… There is a possibility that im in a relationship with a really nice blonde

I can just imagine prim squealing as she read the text message I just sent. She would be flipping shit and I know she will be until I get home. Prim feels more like a friend to me than a younger sister. She acts like one of those really girly-girl friends that help you with relationships and fashion. I guess growing up taking care of each other; you become so close that you are more friends than sisters.

"Mmm… so what are you two talking about now?" Peeta asks me. I look back to him while locking my phone so he can't read my text messages with her. I eye him down with a smug smirk.

"None of your business! Now get off your lazy ass and let's get back to camp" I say, crawling off his broad chest and stumbling to my feet. I stick out my hand and he wraps his large, rough one around it. I do the little I can with my strength to pull him to his feet.

Before I can register what Peeta is doing he has lifted me up and spun me around so he is giving me a piggyback. He begins walking towards the line of the trees on the way back to camp.


	48. Little Suprises

**This is a bit of a short chapter sorry… im sort of getting annoyed at this story… its getting sloppy and hasn't got a real story line :( Im kind of happy that it is coming to an end soon but don't worry im already working on another story! Anyway happy reading and please leave a review! :)**

**CH48 – Little Surprises**

Finnick POV

Annie and I spent the day at the waterfall. We swam in the clear, blue water and jumped from the top of the waterfall, and then we sat on the hot rocks and talked as our skin dried in the sun. Its 4:00pm now and I'm lounging on the hammock in camp grounds. My mind is buzzing as I try and think of a way to convince Annie that she is important to me because she is, even if her mind is telling her different.

We aren't _together_ yet and that might be because im afraid she would say no if I tried asking her to be my girlfriend but that doesn't mean I don't care for her or want to keep her safe. I want her to feel wanted because I don't get how a girl as loving and caring as her can feel so self-conscious about herself.

I could write her a song… then again I can't sing. I could give her one of those frames with photos of the 2 of us but I don't have that many photos with her yet. I could cook for her… but I would probably burn everything.

Shit.

I'm really not good at this being romantic thing.

I have never really had a girlfriend… I use to be more the one-night-stand kind of person.

I don't know where Peeta is. Maybe I could go see if Gale could help… he has had a few girlfriends… but he doesn't seem like the caring type.

Wait… I know what I can do!

**Time Lapse**

"Come on, Annie!" I whine loudly, pawing for her hand "you have to come to the beach!" I pout at her and she shakes her head with a smile, laughing at my childish antics.

"It's cold, Finnick! I don't want to go to the beach" she says shaking her head with a smile. I watch her eyes crinkle and her teeth flash as she laughs and smiles at me. She looks better already.

"You can take every single one of my jackets and jumpers! We aren't even going swimming! Please… just come" I say, my tone a little bit more serious now. I need her to go to the beach otherwise the whole thing is going to be ruined.

"What is so important at the beach anyway?" she asks me with a smirk. I can't tell her! It will ruin the surprise! I shake my head as her and grab her hand, pulling her towards my tent.

"You will have to find out… now chose one of my jumpers!" I tell her once we reach my tent. My shit is scattered out everywhere around the tent and so is Gale's and Peeta's. It's not the best start to our romantic night but I would prefer Annie to see how messy I am than to freeze to death down on the beach. She rummages through the dark green duffle bag that I told her was mine and pulls out a grey sweatshirt that fits me perfectly but will probably be a dress on her tiny body. She slips it over her head and as I thought it is huge on her; dropping all the way to bit above her knees. It looks really hot though; her in my oversized jumper. I pull her out of the tent and drag her through the gate down to the beach as she harasses me with questions about what I'm doing, where I'm taking her, why aren't I tell her anything. The list goes on.

"Shhh… you will find out when we get there" I tell her again and she moans loudly. She stumbles as I drag her down the sandy trail to the beach.

"This better not be your plan to murder me because I don't think Katniss will be happy" she says to me jokingly. I laugh and slow down as we approach the end of the trail where the path opens up to the wide beach.

"Okay, close your eyes" I tell Annie with a smirk. She protests at first but I end up convincing her that I won't kill her. I guide her down to where I have set up the small beach picnic for dinner.

"Okay you can open them" I whisper into her hear, my mouth brushing her lobe tenderly. Her eyes flutter open and I watch her carefully as a look of shock comes over her face. She puts her hands to her agape mouth and she begins to laugh as tears well up in her eyes. Well that wasn't the reaction I was expecting. Is it too much? I look down to the set up on the beach. There is a small blanket spread across the golden sand with a pile of pillows on top of it, there is some pizza and 'cookies and cream' ice-cream which I got from the kitchen with a lot of pleading.

This can't be too much.

"i-is it okay?" I ask her nervously as I glance back up at her face that is now soaked with tears. This is _defiantly_ not the reaction I expected… and this isn't even all of it. She tears her eyes away from the small picnic and back to me. A smile spreads across her face and she pounces on me; wrapping her arms around my shoulders and squeezing me as if I was the last person on Earth.

"yes, yes, yes, yes" she repeats over and over as her tears soak into my shirt "I can't believe you did all this for me!" she says softly, pulling her head back to look at me. I smile down at the sweet look of thanks and awe written on her face.

"I would do anything for you" I tell her, unwrapping my arms from her back and grabbing her soft hand. I tug at it, indicating that I want her to come sit down with me in the pillows "come on, im starving! Let's eat some pizza" I tell her with a wink. She giggles and then quickly wipes her tears. We sit down in the pile of pillows and she cuddles in close to me as I grab 2 pieces of pizza; one for her and one for me.

"So… have you liked the holiday, Ms Cresta?"


	49. The Little Things

**I just wrote chapter 52 and I think the story line is coming together better at that stage so sorry for the sloppiness of it in the last couple of chapters! Anyway big thankyou to all my readers! Love you all! This is a cute little Finnie chapter! Happy reading and pleaseee leave a review! :)**

**CH49 – The Little Things**

Annie POV

"It has been alright" I say with a mouth full of pizza. Finnick smiles at me and I blush.

"I reckon it has been unbelievably great" he says and I look quizzing at him "all because of you" he says kissing my forehead. I sit there; bright red as Finnick chuckles at me. I take another large bite of my pizza causing Finnick to out-right laugh at me.

"So what's all this for?" I mumble through my mouthful of pizza. He looks up at me from his pizza and looks confused but amused at the same time.

"I wanted you to know how much you mean to me" he tells me and I blush again, my gaze dropping back down to my lap. I fidget with the hem of Finnick's huge jumper.

"Thankyou, Finnick, it really means a lot" I tell him, glancing back up so he knows I'm serious. He smiles sweetly at me and nods his head. I lean comfortably against his chest and breathe in his scent. Finnick's presence relaxes me and allows me to forget about all my worries.

We begin to chat about different things, joking around about Finnick becoming a model, eating pizza and ice-cream and just enjoying being with each other.

"Annie! Press play!" Finnick says and I shake my head at him with a smirk. I have no idea why he is doing this. I swear it is the most stupidest thing in the world "come on!" He pleads and I laugh loudly. I press the play button on my phone and look back up to him as 'Best of Both Worlds' by Hannah Montana comes on. Finnick is standing in the sand with the largest grin I have ever seen. He begins to dance around the beat of the song until the lyrics come in and he begins to sing.

_Oh yeah  
Come on_

You get the limo out front  
Hottest styles, every shoe, every color

I crack up laughing as Finnick jumps around pretending to hold a microphone as he shouts the lyrics to the song.__

Yeah, when you're famous it can be kinda fun  
It's really you but no one ever discovers

In some ways you're just like all your friends  
But on stage you're a star

He holds out his hand to me and I shake my head and cross my arms over my chest.

"There is no way I'm doing _that_" I say over the music. Finnick looks at me pleadingly but continues to shout the song.__

You get the best of both worlds  
Chill it out, take it slow  
Then you rock out the show

You get the best of both worlds  
Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds

The best of both worlds

You go to movie premiers (is that Orlando Bloom?)  
Hear your songs on the radio  
Livin' two lives is a little weird  
But school's cool cause nobody knows

Suddenly Finnick turns around and grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet before I can react. I stand there with a mock-annoyed expression on my face. To be honest, even with Finnick being a goof and forcing me to join in with him, I can't be annoyed at him. He is so sweet and fun that I don't think I will ever be able to be properly annoyed at him.

"I will stand up but you aren't going to get me to dance _or_ sing" I tell him with a smirk. He begins to jump and dance around me in a circle with a huge smile. I roll my eyes at him as he begins to sing again.__

Yeah you get to be a small town girl  
But big time when you play your guitar

You get the best of both worlds  
Chill it out, take it slow  
Then you rock out the show

He starts doing the moon-walk through the sand and I crack and laugh loudly at his attempt to dance.

"Come on, Annie!" He shouts to me playfully. I shake my head at him but smile widely as he continues to circle me, dancing stupidly. "You're going to dance" he tells me sternly and I shake my head at him again.__

You get the best of both worlds  
Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both  
You know the best of both worlds

"Dance!" Finnick shouts and I shake my head, biting my lip to stop the smiling from forming on my lips again. "Dance!" he says again and I put my hands on my hips and shake my head again "Annie, Dance!" he says and I laugh a little at him.

"I'm not dancing, Finnick!" I tell him. He grabs my hand from my hip and pulls me close to him. He wraps his arms around my waist and picks me up and begins to spin while he shouts the words to the song._  
_

_Pictures and autographs  
You get your face in all the magazines  
The best part is that you get to be who ever you wanna be_

(Best! Best!) Yeah, the best of both!  
(Best! Best!) You got the best of both!  
(Best! Best!) Come on, the best of both!

"Okay, okay! Put me down and ill dance… but I'm _not_ singing!" I tell him. He places me back in the sand and I begin to jump around with him.__

Who would of thought that a girl like me  
Would double as a superstar

"You're singing! Annie, it's your chorus! You better sing" he tells me and I shake my head at him

"What are you going to do?" I ask him mischievously, still jumping and dancing to the girly song.

"You don't want to know! It's coming up….. You better sing!" he tells me and I sigh loudly, giving in to his persistent nagging. To be honest I like his nagging, it makes me feel special.__

You get the best of both worlds  
Chill it out, take it slow  
Then you rock out the show

I crack up laughing after both I and Finnick sing the chorus. The music continues on my phone but neither of us sings. I don't get how Finnick could ever make me dance or sing. I'm not usually the one for doing out-there, stupid things but when I'm with Finnick… he makes it so much fun.

"You change me" I tell him truthfully. He looks shocked and confused but doesn't say anything so I continue "I would never have done any of… _that_ unless I was with you. You change me" I tell him and he laughs.

"Do you like the change?" he asks me and I nod eagerly. I do like the change. I feel more confident and not like a tired, old lady. He makes me feel like a teenager, he reminds me that I'm only 18 and that I'm meant to be doing stupid things. I like the change. I feel happy.

I flop down in the pile of pillows and bite my lip so that a massive smile doesn't spread across my face randomly. I sigh as the song finishes on my phone and Finnick comes and lies down beside me. I look up at him and he looks down at me and we both end up rolling around laughing.

"Why were we even doing that?" I ask him jokingly and he shrugs at me nonchalantly. I bury myself in the warmth of the surrounding pillows as I calm down from my laughing fit. The stars twinkle brightly above me and I take a deep breath. This moment is so perfect. It is somewhere I never thought I would find myself. Being with a guy besides Gale was a big thing for me before me came here and now I'm dancing around and singing like a lunatic with one of the most popular guys at our school.

"I have something for you" Finnick says, sitting up and leaning over to where his backpack sits. He rummages through it while I watch him with confusion. What else could he have? He set up this picnic, got pizza and my favorite ice-cream. He turns around to face me again but keeps his hands behind his back, hiding whatever it is he has.

"Okay… so after you told me about the voices, I wanted to do something to prove to you, that you are important to me-" He begins

"Finnick, you have done all this already! I don't need anything else" I tell him while shaking my head. What he has done already is really too much. I mean it was so nice of him but he didn't need to waste all the time organizing it.

"I wanted to, Annie" he tells me with all seriousness. I sigh and nod, indicating that he can continue. "okay… so I wanted to prove to you, that you are important to me so I organized this" he says, signaling to the picnic "and I also made you this at that little game place in the camp grounds where you can do craft" he says, pulling his arms out from behind his back and revealing a small scrapbook-looking thing. On the front reads 'you are important' in green, sparkly stick-on letters and its surrounded in fake, paper flowers. I feel the tears begin to prick at my eyes as I look at it. Finnick hands it to me and I run my fingers over the flowers as tears brim in my eyes. Some of the flowers are falling off and it might look like a 13 year old made it but it makes it all the more genuine and cute.

"you have to open it!" Finnick tells me excitedly and I look up to him. His eyes are twinkling with happiness as he watches me inspect the book. I smile at him through my tears and open the book. On the first page there is a picture of me from this trip. It's me and him laughing at the beach, I don't even know who took the photo. I feel my smile become larger and my tears continue to trickle down my cheeks. Below the picture it says 'the many reasons why you are important to you' in Finnick's messy hand-writing. I laugh to myself and then notice the little message on the very bottom left in brackets it says 'cliché, I know'. I laugh again and look up to Finnick who is enjoying my reaction to his gift.

I turn to the next page and in big words it says 'you green eyes that look like emeralds in the sun'. I shake my head and flick through the pages, not reading them just observing how many there are. The book seems to go on and on. There looks to be around 30 pages. I gawk at how much effort he must of put in to make this for me. I end up on the very last page which is blank and look up to Finnick with confusion.

"Why is this one empty?" I ask him, glancing back down to the completely empty page. He smiles and rubs his hands on the thigh of his jeans. He begins to look nervous as he looks down at his lap, taking deep breaths "Finnick?" I say, cocking my head so he can see my face. He look back at me completely and I smile.

"A-Annie, we… umm, I have gotten to know you really well on this trip and in a way you snuck up on me because… really, I never thought I would care for someone as much as I care about you. I-I really like you Annie and I want to be able to protect you… so…. A-Annie, will… will you be my girlfriend?" he asks nervously and even before I know what I'm doing, my head is bobbing up and down and a huge smile is on my lips.

"Yes" I say with a smile. His face seems to light-up with a new happiness. "Yes, Finnick, I will" I tell him, still nodding like a crazy person. I look back down to the book in confusion "but what is with the blank page?" I ask him. He smile doesn't budge as he digs something out of his pocket. He pulls out a piece of paper and a glue-stick and I laugh as he begins to put glue on the back of the paper. He crawls forward and sticks the paper onto the blank page in the book. When he pulls his hand away I look at what it says. In Finnick's handwriting it reads 'the fact that you are my girlfriend' and below it is a picture of a guy stick-figure and a girl kissing with love hearts above their heads. I laugh and look back up to Finnick.

"Thank you" I say, closing the book and putting it beside me, I lean forward and move closer to Finnick "thank you so much for everything, Finnick. Thank you so much! Y-you don't understand how much this all is for me. I-I… _you_ make me more confident and special and I-I don't deserve you, Finnick! I just can't believe you did all this for me" I say, sniffing a little as my tears continue to roll down my cheeks and fall into the sand. I lean in and press my lips against his is a sweet kiss that is a little sloppy because of my crying but I don't care; its perfect. He is perfect.


	50. The Other Two

**Is it just me or is this story becoming really boring? Like Im not even excited to write it anymore…If you guys still want me to continue I will but otherwise I think im going to leave this story and focus on my other stories. **

**Happy reading and leave a review :)**

**CH50 – The Other Two**

Gale POV

"I swear we are always the ones left behind at camp" Johanna whines as I flick through a surfing magazine lazily "the others are always off on their little _date_ things" she says and I feel a stinging feeling evict from my heart and course through my being. Thinking of Peeta and Katniss going off every day on little _date_ things, as Johanna calls them, kind of hurts. Knowing that the one you want is off with some other guy doing who knows what but I guess it's better than seeing them do it right in front of me like I did the other day. I mean seeing them full on make out right in front of me did sort of make me crazy… I did end up punching trees. I shake my head subtly and flick to the next page of the magazine, trying to distract myself from the thoughts of Katniss that have been terrorising my mind of late.

"Yeah, I guess we are" I murmur, not really letting my frustration towards the situation show. I don't want Johanna to think I'm some kind of sad, little boy who is pining over some girl. I shuffle in the grass suddenly uncomfortable with my own thoughts. Fuck. Why can't I just forget about her and him and everything?

After we snuck back in from the beach early this morning, we all headed back to our tents to get some actual sleep. I was out as soon as I hit my pillow; I woke up at around 1pm to find Peeta and Finnick gone. I went to find out where they were when I ran into Katniss and talked to her about Annie. We discussed her situation and how we are going to help her until Katniss told me she had to go. After that I headed to find Finnick, Annie or Johanna because I really didn't want to end up running into Peeta and needing to converse with him. I found Finnick trying to charm some girl into giving him ice-cream and pizza. He explained to me that he was setting up a secret date with Annie. I left him to organise his little surprise and set out to find Annie or Johanna. After only walking for a few minutes I ran into Annie and she seemed happy if not ecstatic, she told me that Finnick had taken her to this amazing waterfall where they went swimming. I parted with her and ran into Johanna sunbaking in the middle of the camp-grounds oval ignoring the complaints from the guys who were trying to play a game of footy. She explained to me that Katniss and Peeta were going on a trip to some meadow they found and that Finnick was organising a beach date with Annie so I decided to stick with her for the rest of the day.

"This is so lame! This trip was meant to be us hanging out with them! Why are we always being ditched?!" she shouts as she scrolls through her phone "you know what? I'm going to ruin their romantic atmosphere with a phone call" Johanna says with a smirk. Well… I can't say that hanging out with Johanna is boring. She isn't one to just relax and do nothing. She puts to the phone to her ear and waits for them to pick up.

"Hey, peety! How ya doing?" she asks in a mock-sweet voice. I cover my mouth in an attempt to not laugh at how out of place the voice sounds coming out of Johanna's mouth. She shoots daggers at me and then rolls her eyes, putting her attention back onto the phone call.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you were on a date" she says innocently.

"Oh you're on your way back?" she asks, her eyebrows furrowing a little and her gaze falling to the grass in front of her.

"Okay, yeah, I'm hanging out with Gale right now" she says her voice more serious.

"No, just go to the beach or something… please!" she says her voice quieter

"I have done so much for you, you fuck-head! If you don't go to the beach I will literally murder you" she hisses into the phone and I begin to feel curious as towards what the hell she is talking about. Why does she want him go to the beach so badly? A long silence falls over us as Johanna listens intently to her phone while I sit awkwardly and try and understand what she is talking about.

"Okay, thankyou, bye!" she calls into the phone before pulling it away from her ear and hanging up. She sighs and then looks back up to me, putting her smirk back onto her face and laughing at me.

"What?" I ask confused.

"Your face right now is hilarious! What are you thinking about?" she asks, curiosity filling her features as she leans back onto her elbows. I rub my hands over my face hoping that whatever look was on my face has now returned to neutral.

"Um… nothing, just wondering why you wanted them at the beach? Weren't you just complaining that you wanted to do stuff with them?" I ask her. She looks tunned… a little like a deer in headlights. She shakes her head and begins to fidget with the blades of grass surrounding her.

"Umm… I just… he was saying that he was going to go to bed as soon as he got back?" she says and it sounds awfully like a question then a statement. "Yeah, he just… ahh… I thought it would be better if he did something with Katniss then been his normal, boring self and gone to bed" she says and I can so easily tell it is a lie. As much as I hate to say it… Peeta isn't a boring person. I roll my eyes at her but forget the matter. I lie back down and rub my face with my hands.

"What can we do? I'm getting bored of letting the sun, burn my face" I whine, turning my head to look at Johanna.

"It's called _tanning_!" she says, grabbing another trash-mag from her stack of them "and if you can come up with something better to do, go ahead and say it" she tells me. I sigh loudly and rack my brain for something we can do instead of searing our skin with sun rays.

"What about… I'll take you on in a game of COD on the Xbox in that game-centre-place!" I say, smirking at her as a look of disgust falls onto her face.

"Im not playing _COD… _that's for acne covered boys, who like to jerk off to pictures of Meaghan Fox" she says, her eyes falling back on her magazine as she scans through the glossy pages.

"I jerk off to pictures of Meaghan Fox… I don't think there is a guy that _doesn't_ jerk off to pictures of Meaghan Fox!" I tell her with a shrug of my shoulders. Johanna rolls her eyes at my comment and I can't help but laugh. "Come on! Scared you're going to lose?" I tease her playfully. She slaps the magazine onto the grass and sits up to look at me.

"You would be too busy wanking off to be able to concentrate on the game so no, no I'm not scared I will lose!" she hisses as me with a smirk. I laugh and run my hands through my hair.

"Well we are never going to be able to prove that, are we?" I ask her, while getting to my feet and walking off. I hear her loud huff from behind me and a smile comes onto my face as I wait for her to call out my name.

"GALE! Come back here, I'm going to take your lazy ass down in a game of COD" she yells from the few meters behind me. I turn around on my heels and shake my head as she stands there, he hand propped up on her hip and a malicious grin tugs at her mouth.

"okay, hurry up, let's go" I say, nudging my head in the direction of the game centre and wait for her to catch up to me as we head briskly in that direction.


End file.
